Out Of It
by Ms Trick
Summary: After trying to kill his brother, Sasuke is declared a sociopath and ends up as roommate to Naruto in a mental institution. NaruSasu. SEQUEL: 'Landing'
1. Part I

**Out Of It**

* * *

_Author_: Ms. Trick

_Main Pairing_: NarutoSasuke

_Disclaimer_: Insert witty take on the I-don't-own-this statement here.

_Note_: **1.** A fair amount of this fic is based off of the movie version of Girl, Interrupted. So apologies there. **2.** I know the characters are a little OOC. But to get them into a mental institution, I had to change one or two things. Duh. **3.** Reviews make my life. No seriously.

* * *

Sasuke glared at the shrink. He was perched stiff-backed on a large green leather couch in front of his therapist's cherry wood desk.

"Let's see," the man said, studying the notes in front of him. "You are Uchiha Sasuke, yes? My name is Dr. Umino Iruka. I'm here to help you." He gave a genuine smile.

Sasuke merely tch-ed irritably and looked out the wide window at a vibrant green tree as Iruka continued to speak in a gentle voice.

"I'll be meeting with you three times a week during your stay here at Konoha Hospital. I hope--"

"Where's my brother?" Sasuke interrupted coldly.

"Ah yes...Uchiha Itachi is still in the S-class ward, in solitary confinement. Do you want to talk about him?"

"Talk? There's nothing to say. He slaughtered my entire family. It's my duty to avenge them. I need to kill him."

Iruka sighed, lowering his notes. "And you nearly did."

Sasuke clenched his fists, his glare returning full force. "You stopped me."

"No, the police stopped you. Remember? They caught you breaking into Konoha's main building and it was then decided that you'd be better off here rather than in your foster home."

"I'm not crazy," Sasuke said angrily.

Iruka didn't reply and instead reshuffled some papers on his desk. "You'll reside in the Coed Class Ward, what we call the C-class, with others your age. I think you have a good chance of getting better, Sasuke. I really do."

"Is that all?" He said irritably.

"For now."

The boy's dark eyes never wavered from their glower as Iruka called in one of the wardens via the speakerphone on his desk. A few seconds later, a man with silver hair and a mask covering half his face appeared.

"Yo!" He said with a cheerful wave.

Sasuke took a break from glaring to wonder if this man worked here or was one of the loonies.

"Kakashi, will you show Sasuke around the C-class? Roommates go alphabetically, so you know where he goes," Iruka said calmly.

"Right." Kakashi looked at Sasuke. "Are you coming or do I need to drag you?"

Sasuke stood and stalked past him through the door. Kakashi followed, putting a hand on the boy's shoulder to slow his pace. Sasuke shook him off but silently adjusted his speed to walk at the same rate as the orderly.

Kakashi led him outside into the warm spring sunshine and they followed a path to another of the large brick buildings within the hospital compound. Sasuke subconsciously put a hand on his neck. He inwardly scowled at himself when he realised he had been rubbing the tattoo, but even then he didn't remove his hand.

"This is C-class," Kakashi said as they entered through the double doors.

"Which one is S-class?" Sasuke asked, looking over his shoulder at the gathering of buildings of various sizes and styles.

"Not telling."

They climbed two flights of stairs with Kakashi pointing out the nurses' stations, the bathrooms, the recreation rooms, and so on, until they arrived at a hallway lined with doors.

They walked down it, Kakashi with nonchalant ease, his hands in his pockets, and Sasuke looking around, memorizing the location of everything, his hand still over the mark on his neck. They passed a furnished room with hard-backed chairs and coffee tables.

"That's the living room. Everyone hates it," Kakashi said without even glancing at it.

They continued along, passing several closed doors that Sasuke soon learned were bedrooms. A girl with white eyes and dark hair was peering out of hers but when they reached her room, she gave Sasuke a frightened look and quickly retreated inside.

Unfazed, Sasuke turned his attention to the area at the end of the hall. It was another living room, this one larger than the last and stocked with spinning chairs, a table or two, several couches, and a television set. A handful of girls and guys around Sasuke's age were milling around, some playing cards on one of the tables, some watching TV, some just sitting and staring into space.

"Hey!" A sharp voice cut through the quiet noise of the room as they approached the area.

Kakashi fixed his bored gaze on the speaker, who turned out to be an absurdly skinny girl with a high ponytail of blond hair.

"I want my fucking clothes!" She shrieked, hands on her hospital-gown clad hips.

Sasuke had noticed that only some of the patients were in the stereotypical thin gowns. A fair amount were wearing their own clothing.

"Then you'll have to eat something, won't you?" Kakashi said smoothly. He approached a wall with a blackboard with a list of names on it and turned back to Sasuke.

"This is the check-in board. You check out here to take a walk on the grounds." Kakashi tilted his head towards the bottom of the list and Sasuke followed his gaze. "Currently, you're an 'R,' which means 'restricted to the ward.' You can move up with good behaviour."

Sasuke looked balefully at the little chalk R next to his name, which was the third to last on the list.

"I won't be here that long," he said, glancing at the two names below his.

"It's all right. Everybody gets the same tour free of charge," Kakashi said jovially as they turned down the only other hallway attached to the living space. "This is the boys' hall. The hall we just came through was the girls'. I don't need to tell you that sleepovers are only permitted with your own gender and upon request."

Sasuke allowed himself a smirk. Not an issue. He had never been a people person, let alone someone who would voluntarily spend a night listening to girls chitchat into the dawn.

"This will be your room," Kakashi said, opening a door near the end of the hallway. "And your roommate..."

Sasuke looked in at the empty room. It had two neatly made beds and two dressers, plus a fenced window.

"...hmmm," Kakashi finished, confused. Frowning, he pointed out which bed was Sasuke's and excused himself.

Sasuke saw that the small suitcase he'd taken with him had been placed on his bed. But rather than go over to it, he turned and listened at the door.

"The cops are bringing him. He was at the park climbing trees," an orderly was saying.

Kakashi made a reply as they moved down the hallway and Sasuke didn't catch the rest of the conversation. He didn't have to though. He poked his head out just as a commotion was brewing in the living space. A blond boy in a painfully orange and black outfit was being forcefully pulled and pushed along the hallway.

"It's good to be home!" He called, kicking at the orderlies all the while. In the midst of his lighthearted struggle, he nodded in greeting at a boy leaning lazily against a wall.

"Hey, Shikamaru!"

"Hey, Naruto."

"You miss me?"

"Not much. It was quiet."

"Get him to his room," Kakashi said, quickly grabbing hold of both Naruto's legs.

As they made their way down the boys' hall, Sasuke remembered two things simultaneously: 1) Iruka had said roommates were organized alphabetically and 2) Naruto had been the name directly underneath his own on the check-in board.

_Shit_, Sasuke thought. He quickly moved away from the door as one of the orderlies yanked it open. He stood frozen as he watched the two orderlies hold the eye-sore of a kid down on his bed.

Suddenly, the childish, light-hearted attitude was gone. The boy's eyes seemed to darken and the thrashing became more violent.

"Let go of me!" He snarled, swiping at one of his holders with a hand curved like a claw.

Kakashi's one visible eye widened slightly in recognition. "Kyuubi. We're just going to give you something to help you sleep. Calm down."

He fixed a suspicious glare at Kakashi, who was holding a hypodermic needle with practiced ease. The boy's gaze slid off Kakashi's shoulder and Sasuke stopped breathing when the boy's fierce eyes locked onto his own. Kakashi took advantage of this distraction, quickly sliding the needle into the boy's arm.

"We're going to have to cut those nails again," one of the orderlies muttered.

Naruto didn't even acknowledge Kakashi's actions. His eyes didn't leave Sasuke until they slid closed. Sasuke wasn't sure if he was imagining things or not but he was sure that right before he'd fallen into a drug-induced sleep, Naruto's face had lost its snarl and had settled back into the more innocent look he'd had earlier.

* * *

"Meds!" A voice rang out.

Sasuke watched as everyone started moving towards the window at the nurses' station that was attached to the living area.

"Inuzuka Kiba."

A boy holding a white stuffed dog protectively to his chest approached the counter and took the paper cup of pills from the dark-haired nurse.

"What about Akamaru?" Kiba asked warily.

"Akamaru doesn't need any meds today," she said automatically before reading off the next name on the list.

"Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke stood as Kiba moved away looking satisfied.

"Uchiha Sasuke," the nurse repeated.

He made his way towards the counter through the group of expectant patients.

"I am Shizune, and these are for you," she said, handing him a cup off the tray in front of her.

"What are they?" Sasuke asked suspiciously.

"They'll help you sleep," she said plainly.

"It's 10:30 a.m. I'm not going to--" Sasuke began to protest but Shizune cut him off.

"You can discuss it with your doctor this afternoon. In the meantime, we'll agree to disagree. Take them here," she said as Sasuke started to turn away. "Have some water."

Grumbling, Sasuke downed the pills and the water. He walked back to the chair he'd been sitting in before as Shizune called out the rest of the list.

"Tsuchi Kin. Haruno Sakura. Rock Lee."

Each of them took their pills in turn. They moved like they'd done this every morning for a while.

Finding that his chair had been filled by a boy whose eyes were covered by dark, round sunglasses, Sasuke chose to sprawl out on the red couch with his arms behind his head. Since he was one of the patients allowed to keep his own clothes, he could easily have been mistaken for a regular kid lounging at home.

He closed his eyes. Except he was in a mental hospital. And he didn't really have a home anymore. Memories flew through his mind unbidden. His parents as he remembered them last, when he was eight. The guidance counsellor at school questioning him over and over again why he wasn't going to college, what he wanted to do with his life.

"Oy, bastard," a voice said above him, yanking him back to reality.

Sasuke opened his eyes to find himself staring into the pair of upside down blue ones belonging to his new roommate. It was then he noticed the three scars marring each of the boy's cheeks. Sasuke stared.

"You're Uchiha's kid brother, right?"

Sasuke didn't answer and turned his head away in annoyance. His attention was quickly rerouted back to the blond though, as the boy hopped over the couch's back. Landing in a comfortable crouch, he hovered over Sasuke's prone body.

"So your brother's a psychopath. Are you one too?"

Sasuke stared at him for a few seconds before answering. "No," he ground out, uncomfortable at the boy's close proximity to his face.

"I have Multiple-Personality Disorder. So does Sakura-chan, which is why I think we're perfect for each other but I don't think all of her agrees. What'd they declare you?"

_That explains who Kyuubi is_, Sasuke thought as he looked up. _Naruto.__This would be Naruto._

"Sociopath, trauma-induced."

"That like a psychopath?"

"No."

"Don't touch me!" Sakura yelled out of nowhere, giving Kin a hard shove. The long-haired girl flailed as she fell backwards towards the couch. She landed hard on Sasuke's shins, knocking into Naruto in the process.

The blond-haired boy ungracefully toppled forward with a yelp, his face crashing into Sasuke's and their lips connecting solidly. Sasuke's eyes watered from the smack on his nose and the unexpected weight on his legs. He stared into Naruto's shocked eyes, which were now _very_ close to his, and realized after a second or two that he should probably move.

Simultaneously, the two boys pulled apart and for a brief moment, nobody did or said anything. Then reality snapped back into place; Sasuke's hands flew to cover his stinging nose and Naruto's hands went to his throat. He made gagging sounds and tumbled off of Sasuke onto the floor. Kin started giggling as he pretended to die. Sasuke pushed her off his legs and drew his knees up to his chest.

As a guy who didn't do well with human contact, he'd just been through an overdose of unexpected touching.

"Hyuuga Hinata," Shizune called. "You have a visitor."

The quiet girl was curled up on the floor in the corner of the room but she looked up at the word visitor.

"Hello gorgeous," a girl whose hair was in two buns said appreciatively from her spot in front of the TV.

Sasuke looked over at a young man who couldn't be more than a year or two older than the patients in this ward. Looking at the young man's eyes, Sasuke could accurately guess that he was related to Hinata in some way.

Naruto reached up an arm and hooked it around Sasuke's neck, pulling the dark-haired boy close to whisper into his ear.

"Naruto!" Sasuke said sharply, his voice a warning.

"Nope."

Sasuke gave a start as he turned and realized he was looking into the irate eyes of Kyuubi. Sasuke had yet to really deal with Kyuubi; the only thing he knew about happy-go-lucky Naruto's other half was that Kyuubi was more violent and had a fouler mouth. Though unsure of how to act, Sasuke just continued:

"Sociopath means I don't like people."

"Oh well, bastard," Kyuubi said, holding Sasuke in place. "That's Hyuuga Neji."

Sasuke glanced over as Hinata shyly embraced him.

"He's her cousin. But it's so obvious that he wants to fuck her," Kyuubi continued in a harsh whisper.

"Stop," Sasuke said, disgusted, trying to move away.

"He's the only one who visits her. Her father practically disowned her after realising she had autism."

"At least she fucking gets visitors," Sasuke spat.

"Jealous?" Kyuubi snarled. "I thought you didn't like people."

Sasuke glared and shoved the orange-clad boy away. Sparing one last glance at Kyuubi's feral grin, Sasuke stalked towards their room, his hand finding its way to the mark on his neck.

* * *

**End Part One**


	2. Part II

**Out Of It**

**II**

* * *

That night, Sasuke lay awake in his new bed, unable to sleep despite the meds. The problem may have had something to do with the fact that every ten minutes a nurse would poke his or her head into the room, saying,

"Checks."

Sasuke winced at the sudden light from the hallway and looked over at his roommate, whose eyes were also open. He had gotten into bed as the hyperactive Naruto but, as Sasuke was learning, Kyuubi could show up at any moment.

"Why do they do that?" Sasuke asked tiredly.

"They're just doing Checks," Naruto whispered. "They'll space them out after you've been here awhile. Which means we'll have to be quick."

Sasuke noted the change in voice the second before Kyuubi leapt onto his bed. While straddling Sasuke, Kyuubi grabbed his wrists, bent low and brought their lips together for the second time. This kiss was substantially deeper than their previous one. Sasuke felt a tongue slide into his mouth and his eyes slipped closed involuntarily.

Sasuke pulled back, breathing a little harshly. "Why...what are you..."

"_I_ liked the kiss, even if little Naruto was confused as hell," he responded with a smug smile. He leaned down to steal another kiss and though Sasuke obligingly met his mouth at first, he then quickly twisted his head sideways.

"Stop," he said firmly. The tight grip on his wrists loosened suddenly.

"S-sasuke?" Naruto said nervously. "Shit. Shit! I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry..."

Sasuke looked up at the blonde teen sitting on him. His blue eyes were wide with remorse as he apologized again and again.

"It...it's okay. Nothing's...wrong," Sasuke said awkwardly.

Unsurprisingly, Naruto didn't look convinced in the least. He sat utterly miserable on his roommate; even his odd sleeping cap seemed to droop. Sasuke's mind raced as he tried to remember exactly what people did to comfort one another.

Unfortunately, the only thing he could remember at that moment was hurt/comfort sex, which Sasuke didn't think was quite what this situation needed. He eventually reasoned with himself that he could just do the first part of the comforting. There was not need to go all the way, he was sure.

Impulsively, he leaned up and put his arms around Naruto's shoulders. Tentatively, Naruto reached up to return the uncomfortable hug.

"I feel bad," Naruto mumbled into Sasuke's t-shirt clad shoulder. "I knew too. I knew he liked what happened earlier. Damn it. ...how's your nose?"

"Okay," Sasuke said stiffly. What the hell was he supposed to do now?

That decision was taken away from him as Sasuke felt the effects of the meds dimming his mind like a light. Naruto seemed to be going boneless too.

A couple minutes later, Kakashi stuck his head in. The word "checks" died before he even opened his mouth. Usually, it was mandatory that patients sleep one to a bed since some woke up in a volatile manner. But Kakashi wasn't stupid. A sociopath allowing someone else in such close proximity might bring some good. And not just for Sasuke.

Naruto had been considered something of an outcast in C-class because of Kyuubi's explosive moods. Kakashi sighed as he pulled a blanket over the two sleeping boys.

Maybe, just maybe these two could help each other. Kakashi looked over his shoulder one last time before quietly shutting the door.

* * *

Sasuke awoke to someone's breath on his neck and he immediately froze. Naruto was cradled against him, his arm over Sasuke's chest and his face pressed against Sasuke's shoulder.

"Ne, Sasuke?" Naruto said, sounding awake. "What's this tattoo on your neck for?"

This was it for Sasuke. He hurriedly shoved Naruto away and scrambled out of the bed, his hand flying up to cover the mark on his neck protectively. Naruto yelped slightly as he avoided falling off the bed himself.

"Nothing. It means nothing," Sasuke said before making a quick exit, still wearing the t-shirt and shorts he wore to bed. In his hurry, he nearly collided with Asuma in the hall.

"Oh, there you are, Sasuke. It's time for your meeting with Iruka. Are you ready?"

Sasuke looked up at the mammoth of a man, the words not sinking in. In the end, Sasuke wound up sitting in Iruka's office wearing his pajamas and a foul mood.

Iruka tried not to sigh. He was quickly learning that Sasuke would be exasperatingly uncooperative on his good days. And that bad days like today were going to be nothing but spiked roadblocks.

"I understand you spent last night in the same bed as your roommate," Iruka said, looking at his patient curiously. "Anything you want to tell me about that?"

Sasuke scowled. If it was one thing he really did not want to talk about right now, it was Naruto.

"Have you become friends with Naruto?" Iruka queried.

"Why? Is that bad?" Sasuke asked sarcastically.

Iruka wanted to say 'not at all' but his job prompted him to ask, "Does it feel bad?"

"No."

"Before you came here, did you have many friends?"

"No," Sasuke said, his nose scrunching slightly.

"What is it?" Iruka asked, notebook perched on his lap. "Are you puzzled about something?"

"Yeah, I guess I am," Sasuke drawled, leaning backwards on the couch lazily. "I'm puzzled as to why I have to be in a mental institution."

"You put yourself here."

"The cops put me here."

"No, they didn't."

"Everyone here's fucking crazy!"

"You want to go home."

"Tch. Same problem."

* * *

_Another productive day of therapy_, Sasuke thought sarcastically as he was later escorted from Iruka's office back to the ward. The first thing he heard as he reached the girl's hall was a loud singing that undoubtably belonged to his obnoxious roommate.

"Razors pain you; rivers are damp;  
acid stains you; drugs cause cramp."

As they approached the rec room, Sasuke saw Naruto sitting around one of the square tables with three others.

"Guns aren't lawful;  
nooses give..."

"Shut up, Naruto," Sakura muttered across from him.

"...gas smells awful;  
you might as well live!"

As soon as he'd finished, he threw his cards down.

"Gin!" Naruto crowed.

"Asshole," Ino grumbled from his left.

"Fatso," Naruto retaliated; Ino went pale.

One of the orderlies, an older woman with red eyes, drew near to the table with a clipboard in hand.

"Gaara, your sister's here to see you," Kurenai said, tucking a recalcitrant brown curl behind her ear.

The fourth card player calmly lowered his hand to the table as Sasuke approached. They all looked over as a girl with dirty-blond hair entered, carrying what looked like a small dried gourd in her hands.

"Temari." Gaara spoke without emotion. He looked as though he'd memorized the name out of a book. Nevertheless, he stood and walked towards her.

She gave him a nervous smile before speaking.

"It's been a while since I saw you last. I thought you would want more sand--"

"Father and Kankurou are still too afraid to come after what happened with Yashamaru, right?" Gaara said, eying the gourd Temari held out to him. She didn't say anything and at length, Gaara reached out and took it from her.

Sasuke saw her flinch slightly but gave her some credit for trying to hide her fear.

"Not going to talk to your big sister?" She weedled.

"I've never really thought of you as my sibling," Gaara said, his voice never changing tone. He turned and walked down the boys' hall to his room.

Temari looked after her brother guiltily for a moment. Then her eyes hardened and she turned and walked out of the ward without looking back.

"Oy..."

Naruto poked Sasuke in the back twice. Sasuke spun around to swat the hand away. He was about to give Naruto a warning look but then the blond held up a bottle of bright red nail polish.

Sasuke just blinked instead, and Naruto grinned and spun on his heel. He marched off down the girls' hall towards the staircase. And Sasuke, fuelled by curiosity if nothing else, followed, wondering what sort of surprise Naruto had in store now.

The orange and black-clad boy led them up one floor. They passed Asuma on the stairs and Sasuke wondered if he would put an end to their little adventure. But all he said to them was, "Ah, going for a visit?"

Naruto grinned again and nodded, holding up the little bottle for Asuma to see. The large orderly nodded back before continuing down the stairs. The two boys met a pair of double doors, which Naruto marched through happily. They found themselves in a hallway similar to their dorms downstairs, though it was much less populated.

Looking around, Sasuke noted that many of the doors were marked 'S' and had little square windows in them. His heart skipped a beat as Naruto obliviously proceeded to stride down the centre of the hallway.

Was this S-Class? Could Itachi have been that close all this time?

Sasuke stopped and looked back and forth between the miniscule windows of all the doors. Which one was his brother's? Could he get into these rooms? Which door should he start with?

"Here we are!" Naruto said loudly, startling Sasuke from his frantic thoughts.

He looked over to see that Naruto had reached the end of the hall and was gesturing for him to follow through one of the doors. Sasuke walked unsteadily after his friend, appearing stoic even as his heart pounded almost painfully. The room they entered was filled with two rows of six beds and each bed had thick straps attached to them. Sasuke eyed them as Naruto skipped towards the only occupied bed.

"Hey there, Haku!" He greeted loudly.

The pale boy in the bed was wearing a hospital gown and had his arms strapped to his sides by what looked like a large white belt. Another belt lay across his legs. He had been lying absolutely still under the restraints but when Naruto spoke, he looked over blearily and gave a small smile.

Dragging a metal stool over, Naruto perched on it and unscrewed the bottle of gaudy red nail polish. Sasuke stood nearby with his arms folded across his chest and a frown marring his features.

"Why do you keep doing this?" Haku asked, his voice a raspy whisper. Naruto dragged the little brush over the smallest fingernail on one of the boy's limp hands.

"When you stop looking like a girl, then I'll stop painting your nails," Naruto said with a childish grin. He moved onto the next nail, leaving the previous one glinting like a small ruby.

"Hey! You'll love this! I heard it's going to be a bad winter with LOTS of snow! Which means blizzards and snowmen and..."

Naruto's chatter faded into a quiet buzz in Sasuke's ears. The colours in the room around him seemed to melt and run together until everything was grey. Everything except the nail polish, which was still glaringly red.

Sasuke gripped his arms tighter and dug his fingers into his skin. He could hear his blood pulsing in his ears and it drowned out every other sound. He couldn't hear Naruto or Haku at all anymore. His breathing sped up and panic began uncurling in his chest at a frightening rate.

Then suddenly, Naruto's finger slipped and the small bottle dropped slightly. He caught it in time to save most of the nail polish, but not before some of the red liquid splashed out.

Sasuke's eyes never left the drops as they fell towards the ground. Time slowed to a crawl right as they crashed into the tiled floor. And Sasuke stopped breathing. He took a clumsy step backwards.

He glanced back up at the grey form of Naruto and was met with fierce eyes, eyes that were a glittering crimson. Sasuke's last lucid thought was, _Kyuubi?_ before the red utterly sucked him in and all he could see was red.

Eyes...Red eyes...Red drops...Red drips...Red drops...Red blood...Red...RED...RED

Suddenly he was out in the hallway, scrambling on the linoleum floors as he ran from door to door. Where was he? Where was Itachi? Red eyes. He had to KILL him. He could feel his own eyes being dyed that horrible colour. His parents...God...Itachi splattered their...red...sticky...it had been everywhere. WHICH DOOR WAS IT?

Sasuke beat his fist against one of the doors, trying to get a view through the window.

"Get the fuck out here, Itachi!" He screamed. "I'm going to kill you! _I'm going to kill you!_"

Suddenly, a large pair of arms grabbed him from behind. He viciously pushed and pulled at them, trying to claw his way back to the door he was sure hid his brother from him. He felt the sensation of a prick in his arm and started struggling more. Then his vision blurred, the grey world regaining some hints of its old colour before finally sinking into a quiet black.

* * *

Sasuke spent a few hours just resting in the dark peace of dreamless sleep before finally coming to. As he began to stir and become more aware of the world, he heard someone approach his bed. He raised a hand to his eyes, trying to rub away the heavy remnants of the drugs. He slowly rolled onto his side and got a blurred glimpse of orange and black pants.

Looking up, Sasuke decided that his eyelids weighed about forty pounds. Each. But if he didn't see the face, Sasuke wouldn't know who he was dealing with. As his vision cleared a little, Sasuke nearly groaned. That toothy sneer was a dead giveaway that it was Kyuubi standing over his bed.

"Psycho," the blond said, hands on hips as he looked down at his roommate.

"Time?"

"After lights-out, dumbass. It's dark."

"They didn't...strap me down?" Sasuke croaked out. His throat was dry as as hell. With hell being a bag of extra-salt potato chips in the centre of a desert.

"What? Like pretty little Haku? Nah. You're not quite that fucked up yet. You'll get there eventually," Kyuubi said nastily.

Sasuke tiredly pulled himself up into a sitting position. He was about to ask exactly how bad someone had to get to earn a bed with straps, but a loud crash in the hallway distracted him.

"My hair!" Someone was screaming.

Sasuke dragged himself over to the door as Kyuubi flopped onto his bed. He peered out to see the figures of three people in the hallway's night-lights.

"Seclusion. Take her to Seclusion. Come on," Sasuke heard Kakashi say in a strained voice.

"I got you," Kurenai spoke soothingly to the third figure, who was clawing at her head.

"My hair! What happened to my hair?" The girl screamed.

It took one or two tries but finally Kurenai and Kakashi got the doors to the stairs open. The girl just kept crying and screaming, "My hair! My hair!"

Kakashi leant down and in one big swoop, picked the girl up in his arms as Kurenai tried to calm her.

"Quieten down. Quieten down. You're all right."

The haphazard trio moved through the door and began making their way up the stairs. Sasuke listened to the girl's cries of, "I'm ugly! My hair! I'm ugly! Why?" until they were too distant to make out.

By this time, Sasuke was nearly fully out into the hallway. He was beginning to realize why the sleeping pills were so necessary. He stepped back into his room, belatedly noticing that someone had changed him into a hospital gown. He moved to his dresser to pull out a t-shirt and shorts to sleep in.

"What happened to Sakura?" He asked nonchalantly. Gods forbid he sound interested in something.

"What?"

Sasuke looked over his shoulder to find Naruto sitting up, giving him a puzzled look.

"That was Sakura right? What happened to her hair?"

"Oh." A sad look came over the blonde. "Kin kept pulling and pulling at her hair and then--we call her Inner Sakura--that's her other half--got mad and took over. And when Kin didn't stop, Sakura took this sharp piece of metal that I think she broke off the cards table and just...cut all her hair off. Just like that. She nearly hurt Kin really badly. Then they gave her the needle. I...I guess the other Sakura just woke up now," he finished shakily.

He drew his knees up to his chest as Sasuke finished getting into his pajamas, leaving the ugly hospital gown on the floor. The dark-haired boy climbed back into his bed and began making himself comfortable. He glanced at his roommate, who was still curled up in the fetal position on his own bed, lost in thought.

Sighing, Sasuke realised this was another situation that would involve comfort. Just because he was a sociopath didn't mean he was stupid. And if Naruto was awake all night, he'd probably end up keeping him awake too.

"Naruto."

His roommate looked over at him with sad eyes. Sasuke knew he could be loud and obnoxious but it wasn't difficult to see that Naruto beat himself up every time one of his friends got hurt. Sasuke nearly scoffed. As if the idiot actually thought he could make everyone better by himself.

"Do you want..." Sasuke started awkwardly, unsure of how to phrase his question. He ended up just gesturing to his bed and pulling back the covers helplessly. Talking was not his strong suite.

Naruto just gave a small nod. He pulled off his orange pants and black t-shirt, leaving only his green boxers. Sasuke concentrated on the ceiling and tried not to think about the voice in the back of his head chiding him for getting into such an awkward situation and how this was a really bad idea and how the morning would only be worse and...

But then he felt Naruto's warm body cautiously climb in next to him. Thoughts of how much body heat the other boy had replaced all others. Sasuke really tried not to blush as he suddenly became conscious of just how small these beds were. He lay stiff as a board, still not daring to look away from the beige ceiling.

After a few minutes, he awkwardly reached an arm around the blond, allowing Naruto to shift slightly closer to him. Their knees knocked together and the voice in Sasuke's head went back to calling him an idiot. The sociopath swore that this would be the absolute last time he would ever share his bed with anyone. Ever.

But a few minutes later, he heard rhythmic breathing, a sure sign that his roommate had fallen asleep. And not long after, Sasuke felt himself relax into the clumsy embrace. And although a part of him labelled this as the most embarrassing position he'd ever been in, Sasuke still fell asleep before Checks were called in four minutes later.

* * *

**End Part Two**


	3. Part III

**Out Of It**

**III**

* * *

Iruka looked back and forth between an annoyed Kakashi and a grumbling Sasuke. They both stood in front of his desk with their arms folded crossly.

"What happened?" Iruka asked at length.

Sasuke merely hmph-ed and turned his head to the side. Kakashi gave an irritated sigh. Iruka eyed the clock on the wall; it was almost 10:00 a.m. How much could _possibly_ have gone wrong before 10:00 a.m.?

"Apparently, Sasuke and Naruto shared a bed last night--" Kakashi began.

"Again?" Iruka asked surprised, looking at the sociopath.

"Just sleeping," Sasuke muttered in the direction of the wall.

"--and Kyuubi woke up before Naruto."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and Iruka gathered that whatever had happened was still a sore subject.

"He won't tell me how it started but when I got to their room, the two were going at it like there was no tomorrow," Kakashi said in mock exasperation.

Sasuke turned and stared disbelievingly at the orderly. Could the man have possibly made that sound any more inappropriate? Iruka stared too, a red tinge slowly spreading across his face.

"We were fighting," Sasuke interjected hurriedly.

Iruka coughed, looking a little relieved. "Yes. Well. That's still not good news." He turned back to Kakashi, whom he swore looked smug through his mask. "Maybe we should think about rearranging the roommate system."

Sasuke blinked and found himself protesting that idea in his mind, much to his surprise. It was just because he couldn't stand many of the other patients, he reasoned. He'd learned to live with Naruto/Kyuubi and now had a comfortable routine going.

"I don't think so," Kakashi said, thoughtfully, much to Sasuke's relief. "Sasuke seems to be good for Naruto, wouldn't you agree?"

"That is true," Iruka said, eyes dropping to scan the charts on his clipboard.

"And I believe Naruto is good for Sasuke despite Kyuubi's outbursts," Kakashi continued.

Sasuke concealed his surprise but gave Kakashi an odd look, speculating why the orderly was pleading his case for him.

Iruka looked up. "I agree that this may serve as good motivation to Naruto in fighting Kyuubi. Nevertheless, some time away from each other will do them good for now. A volatile Kyuubi and an on-edge sociopath isn't the best combo."

Sasuke frowned. He wasn't on-edge. Alright, just a little. Iruka's words had confused him. How was he 'good' for Naruto?

As Kakashi and Sasuke left Iruka's office, the therapist noticed Sasuke's hand absently drifting up towards his neck to cover the mysterious tattoo. The two made their way through the maze of hallways that led back to the C-class, and Kakashi told Sasuke that he'd be spending a night or two in Seclusion.

"We won't lock you in. And depending on your actions, you could only spend one night there or you could spend a week."

"I need to know..." Sasuke started, then stopped.

"Yes?" Kakashi prompted gently.

"I need to know if Itachi is really there, two floors above C-class," Sasuke said quietly.

Kakashi sighed and slowly stopped walking.

"That hallway not _the_ S-class, it's merely the Seclusion hallway for this building."

All the way back to the rec room, Sasuke couldn't help but feel slightly foolish. It had frightened him a little: that he wanted to kill his brother so badly that it was literally driving him crazy. That it was keeping him here.

He took in his surroundings as they walked. It was keeping him here with barred windows and regulated meals. He hated the control the hospital had over his actions but what he hated most was that he could get himself out if he wanted to. He could work toward freedom and eventually return to the real world. The problem was, he wasn't sure he wanted to.

The only purpose his life had was locked away in S-class. Sasuke knew he could eventually leave this hospital but a jolt of despair ran through him when he realised he didn't have a reason to.

As they walked down the girls' hallway, Kakashi was about to comment on Sasuke's gloomy state but was distracted by Gai running across the rec room and the loud crash that ensued.

Kakashi jogged towards the noise to see the green blur that was Rock Lee cheerfully zooming around the room. The boy easily leapt over Asuma's head and then proceeded to flip over the couch Ino and Sakura were sitting on, managing to blow a few kisses at Sakura before taking off down the boys' dorm hallway, a broad grin on his face the entire time. Sakura giggled and Ino scoffed.

Sasuke was surprised. No one had told him Lee was an acrobat. _Well...that explains the_ _outfit_, he thought to himself. _Maybe he worked at a circus._ He was so busy watching Lee's antics that he accidentally tripped over Hinata, who had been sitting outside her dorm room.

Sasuke's hand had still been over his tattoo so his reaction time was delayed slightly and as such, he nearly landed on his face. He was about to snap out at the shy girl but stopped when she said very quietly:

"S-sorry, Sasuke-kun." She buried her face in her arms as Sasuke pulled himself to his feet. This was the first time he'd heard her say anything, let alone anything to him.

"Aww, that's okay, Hinata!" Naruto said loudly, bounding over and crouching down in front of the girl. "It was just an accident and Sasuke doesn't care. Right, Sasuke?"

Hinata peeked up timidly, her arms still wrapped around her knees. Sasuke looked at Naruto's expectant eyes.

"Yeah. Don't worry about it," he said, still looking at Naruto. Hinata's pale cheeks were turning a fabulous shade of pink. Naruto gave her an enthusiastic grin.

"Th-thanks, Naruto-kun," she whispered.

Behind them, Kurenai was leading Temari down the hall to the double doors.

"It does mean something that you come," the orderly said kindly. Temari didn't answer and continued looking straight ahead as she left.

Naruto looked after them curiously and then stood up.

"Come on," he said, grabbing Sasuke's wrist and pulling him along as he marched down the hallway.

Sasuke automatically tugged his wrist free but kept up with his roommate. Naruto veered into the rec room and turned down the boys' hall.

"What are you doing?" Sasuke asked.

"Gaara's usually in a good mood after his sister brings him one of those pumpkin things," Naruto answered as he skidded to a halt in front of Gaara's door.

Sasuke frowned, knowing perfectly well that Gaara was notorious for letting no one into his room. Nevertheless, Naruto rapped on the door a few times.

"Go away!" A muffled voice yelled.

"Definitely in a good mood," Naruto murmured to himself with a smug look on his face.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and folded his arms.

"Come on, Gaara! Lemme in! It's Naruto!"

There was no noise from inside the room and Naruto's face cracked into a grin. He opened the door and slipped inside quickly, pausing to once again latch onto Sasuke's wrist and drag him inside too. Sasuke had no interest in why Gaara liked his privacy but closed the door quietly behind him nonetheless.

Naruto's eyes widened and even Sasuke stopped to stare for a minute. There was sand. Everywhere.

It was spilling over the dresser drawers. It was engulfing the lamp on the nightstand. It was all over the floor. And Gaara sat with a new gourd in the middle of a bed that was so covered in miniature sand dunes you couldn't see the colour of the comforter anymore.

"Wow," Naruto just said.

Gaara looked at him blankly for a second before his gaze shifted to Sasuke. The two glared at each other hostilely before retreating into a cool indifference. Naruto looked between the two before shrugging and flopping down to make himself comfortable in the middle of the sandbox of a room.

"What do you _do_ with all this sand? Do you make sandcastles?" Naruto asked flippantly.

"Hn. No," Gaara said monotonously as he calmly opened the gourd his sister had given him and poured the sand onto where Sasuke guessed his pillow was. Sasuke also observed the teddy bear half-drowned in sand near Gaara's leg.

"Hey!" Naruto said suddenly. He had been looking around in awe at the room when his eye caught on the small stack of sandy suitcases. "You're all packed up."

Gaara nodded. "I'm leaving in a month. My father got me an apartment."

"Really? Where?"

"Near the beach."

"Checks," an orderly called in, opening the door unexpectedly. It was Genma. He halted before leaving, saying with some surprise, "Oh...You've got friends here, Gaara."

Naruto just gave Genma an overly enthusiastic grin while the other two characteristically said nothing. The orderly nodded and continued with his rounds.

"So, Daddy buys you your own place and no one'll ever get in, huh?"

Sasuke nearly winced at the tone of voice and didn't need to look over to know Kyuubi had decided to pay them a visit.

"You never leave except when Kakashi makes you go to the cafeteria...where you never eat...And everyone knows that you almost never sleep..." Kyuubi continued, his arms folding as he smirked. But before he could say anything else, he was interrupted.

"If you're going to leave soon, we definitely need to do something fun," Naruto said, his eyes sparkling.

At this, Sasuke sharply looked over at the orange-clad boy. Naruto was back already? Often, he had to put up with Kyuubi for hours before Naruto came back. He glanced over quickly to see how Kyuubi's taunts had affected Gaara. Unsure of Gaara's condition, Sasuke wasn't aware of off-limits conversation topics. Though had Kyuubi stuck around, the alter-ego would no doubt have exploited every one of them. But Gaara appeared utterly calm. Kyuubi's taunts would probably have had more of an effect on the sandy wall.

Naruto stood with his hands on his hips, appearing to have made his mind up.

"Alright. Tongue your meds tonight. You too, Sasuke. Listen, after 1 a.m. checks, Asuma always goes out for a smoke. Check the corner ceiling mirrors. If they're clear, go to the art room, and it will be open."

And that's why Sasuke found himself sneaking out of his room in Seclusion to creep down two flights of stairs and along the darkened hallways of a mental institution in the dead of night. Seeing by the nightlights that lined the walls, he silently met Naruto outside their shared bedroom. They stealthily made their way to the art room, where Naruto whipped out a keychain with three keys on it. He easily slid the key into the lock and the two boys quietly entered.

Naruto made a beeline for a door on the opposite end of the room and Sasuke stayed by the entrance, keeping an eye out. Sasuke heard another of Naruto's keys do their work and not long afterwards, Shikamaru and Kiba showed up. Kiba mockingly saluted Sasuke as they entered, the white dog clutched against his chest with the other hand. Gaara was next, entering the art room without so much as a sound.

"Who're we waiting for?" Kiba asked impatiently from his perch on one of the supply tables.

At that moment, Lee's distinctive haircut appeared in the doorframe. Behind him stood an irritated-looking Sakura in her striped nightdress. Lee bounced on his toes as he quietly clicked the door shut.

"What's she doing here?" Sasuke asked, suddenly aware that they were all in their pyjamas a.k.a. t-shirts and boxers.

"Sorry. She was awake and wanted to come."

"And if you didn't bring her she'd wake the orderlies, right?" Shikamaru asked, his quick mind having already assessed the situation. When Lee nodded, he sighed. Sakura stuck her tongue out.

"Come on!" Naruto whispered loudly as he went through the now-open door, which apparently led to a small wooden staircase.

The rest of the boys and Sakura followed, with Sasuke at the rear of the line, shutting the door behind them.

"This is how Naruto gets out when he escapes!" Lee enthusiastically informed Sasuke as they climbed down.

Naruto led them to what had to be the basement and expertly made his way to the far wall. Everyone squinted as the fluorescent ceiling lights flooded the room. Naruto proudly skipped from the light switch to an old wooden entertainment centre against the far wall.

Sasuke took in his surroundings. The room was fairly big and had a scattering of old chairs and a table or two. A tatty green carpet was spread wall to wall and there were two bookcases stacked with dusty books and worn board games.

Suddenly, the beat of a pop song floated quietly towards him. Sasuke looked over to see Naruto upping the volume on an old grey boom-box.

"Heeeey," Kiba crowed happily somewhere to his right.

Sasuke looked over to see the wolfish boy leaning over an unplugged mini-fridge in the corner that was stocked with old, warm soda. The boy spun around, Akamaru tucked securely in his shirt, as he held up four cans of ginger ale and cream soda.

Sakura giggled in excitement, Naruto grinned, and Lee gave a thumbs-up in his nice-guy pose. The party was on.

The stereo played out pop hits one after the other for hours. They guzzled soda, a taboo drink in the ward, and told ridiculous stories about previous adventures and laughed until they were rolling about the couches and chairs, choking and teary-eyed. At one point, Sakura was so weak that it took her two or three tries to get back to her feet from where she had collapsed on the floor.

The vertigo of the late night and the massive intake of caffeine on them after such a long stretch of absence (there was no soda in the Konoha cafeteria) had a dizzying effect. Sakura couldn't stop giggling and she inched closer and closer to where Sasuke sat on the floor with his knees to his chest and his back against Naruto's armchair.

Lee was doing handstands and ended up picking a fight with Shikamaru. A fight that they subsequently decided to settle through a race on the wheelchairs found in an adjoining supply room. Shikamaru won the race because he was still calm enough to remember to steer _around_ Kiba, who had been spinning in circles in the middle of the room.

Lee hadn't bothered, and so he and Kiba ended up sprawled across the floor, Kiba near the half-empty mini-fridge and Lee on Gaara's sandy feet. Gaara was sitting in the armchair across from Naruto's and was working his way through his third cherry soda. At Lee's wipe-out, a faint smile ghosted across his face.

Naruto was laughing loudly, sloshing his own can of soda and spilling some on his t-shirt. His leaned forward, his head nearly hitting Sasuke's.

"This was the loons' rec room until last year when it was declared too dungeon-like, being in the basement and all. Then they redid the C-class dorm floor, where we live now," Naruto said before tipping his head back, draining his soda can.

Sasuke took another gulp of his, noting that this wasn't the first time Naruto had spouted off facts about Konoha Hospital's history. How long had the kid been here? Sasuke frowned, puzzled.

"Aww, you look so gorgeous when you're brooding," Sakura crooned, leaning suggestively against Sasuke's shoulder, her breast 'accidentally' brushing against his arm. Sasuke gave her a nonplussed look.

"Knock it off, slut," Sasuke heard Kyuubi growl from behind him.

"I'm going to knock your fucking teeth out," Sakura snapped, turning to glare at the blond. Sasuke recognized the sudden change of tenor for what it was: Inner Sakura had popped up. What was it with alter-egos having foul mouths?

Kyuubi chuckled nastily. "With what? Your massive forehe--"

"YOU KNOW!" A loud voice suddenly said, interrupting the inevitable bitch fight.

Sakura looked around at Lee, who was still lying with his head on Gaara's feet, staring blearily up at him. Relieved, Sasuke took another swig of his soda and also shifted his attention to the other armchair. From the lack of noise above him, Sasuke assumed that Kyuubi or Naruto--he wasn't up to finding out which right now--had done the same.

Lee reached out, putting a hand on Gaara's knee and pulling himself up. Sugar had an interesting effect on Lee's system. It was almost like he was drunk. After nearly getting to his feet, a swaying Lee supposedly changed his mind and toppled into Gaara's lap instead. Everyone froze. Shikamaru had been helping Kiba to his feet, and, at this point, they chose to join the other three in hesitant watching.

In C-class, there were certain things that everybody--patients and orderlies alike--knew that you just didn't do: give Lee alcohol, talk about family with Sasuke, discuss food with Ino, frighten Hinata, etc. 'Touch Gaara' was also on that list somewhere. Even the strident and friendly Naruto didn't attempt to hug Gaara.

Fortunately, for the moment, Gaara seemed too stunned to react; his normally emotionless eyes widening in surprise.

"You know..." Lee said again as he flung an arm around the stoic Gaara's shoulders. "I really don't have a grudge against you or anything..." Here, Lee hiccoughed before continuing. "...for beating me in that fight we had the first day I got here."

The upbeat music still played, oblivious to the tension. Sasuke heard a soft laugh and then Naruto's quiet voice behind him. "I remember that fight. It practically destroyed the rec room. Eventually Gai stopped it but not before Gaara knocked Lee unconscious."

Sasuke frowned. Gaara's movements were always slow and controlled. Sometimes it seemed he didn't move at all--how could _he_ have beaten the hyperactive, fast-paced Lee in a fist fight?

Lee yawned and ducked into Gaara's pale neck. "I went through tough times because of you," he muttered sleepily.

Gaara hadn't moved throughout Lee's caffeine-fuelled rant or the snuggling, even though Lee had thoroughly invaded Gaara's personal space and was now undoubtedly breathing directly onto his neck. Gaara's dark-rimmed eyes watched the boy on his lap intently but his arms and legs remained still.

At length, he finally said, "Is that so?"

Half the room seemed to stop breathing as the red-haired boy finally moved, lifting a hand to the face of the boy draped across him. But he merely ran a thumb gently along a thin scar Lee had on his cheek.

"Gaara gave him that in the fight," Naruto whispered before chucking his empty soda can over his shoulder.

"Oy!" He suddenly yelled above the music, startling everyone. Lee looked over from his comfortable position on Gaara. It seemed his sugar rush was beginning to wear off. "I've got an idea! I know somewhere else we can go."

* * *

"They put the tunnels in so the loons didn't have to go out in the cold," Kiba commented later that night as they walked through said tunnels.

"I must've missed that in the brochure," Sasuke said wryly, keeping his eyes ahead so as not to stumble or take a wrong turn. The tunnels resembled a labyrinth and must have been hell to navigate. Sasuke speculated that that was probably the reason they were unused. Now, half the halls served as storage space.

"Come on, Sasuke!" Naruto called back enthusiastically as they reached several steps leading up to the basement floor of a different building. If Sasuke was counting the turns correctly, they were most likely under the therapy offices. He felt a small wave of smug superiority when they found themselves in the carpeted corridor outside Iruka's office.

"Hey, open the door," Naruto said, waving Kiba over.

"Hold Akamaru for a second then. Be careful, he's still a puppy," he said, handing Sakura the stuffed toy before dropping to crouch in front of the doorknob.

Sakura looked as though she wanted to try and convince Kiba that it wasn't a real dog. But one glance into Kiba's sincere eyes and she couldn't do it. She merely nodded and took the toy into her arms, holding it like she would a baby.

Sasuke marvelled at how everyone just played along with each other's quirks. He wondered if Kiba understood why he was here. Or maybe, he thought, that was another one of those taboo topics. Sasuke certainly didn't want to talk in depth about why he was in a mental hospital. And realising this, Sasuke wondered if empathizing with other lunatics was considered progress or retrogress.

"Hehe, good thing this place has a sliding scale. We get to mingle with the lock-picking trash," Naruto said teasingly.

Just then a loud click was heard and a cheer went through the group. Kiba stood up, stuck his tongue out at Naruto in triumph, and gratefully retrieved Akamaru from Sakura, who gave him a sad smile.

"Dr. Iruka's office," Lee said in awe, promptly leaping into the room before anyone else.

The rest meandered in after him. Naruto skipped over to Iruka's desk, turned on the lamp, and plopped down in Iruka's squishy swivel chair. Gaara sat cross-legged on the floor and Lee happily settled himself next to him. Sakura snagged one of the plush chairs that were tastefully placed around the room while Kiba sat on the wide window-ledge, toy dog in his lap. Shikamaru and Sasuke chose to lean against the wall, Shikamaru with his hands in his pockets, Sasuke with his arms folded.

"All right," Naruto said, pulling out a handful of manila folders out of one of the deep desk drawers. "Uchiha Sasuke," he said in his best therapist voice, a cheeky smile blossoming on his face.

Sasuke silently moved towards the desk and took his file from Naruto's hand.

"Hmm...Sabaku no Gaara," Naruto said, tossing the folder to the floor in front of the boy.

Naruto continued down the line, calling out names as he found their files, and one by one, the patients finally read their therapist's notes and thoughts about them.

"Uzumaki Naruto," he finished quietly, opening his own folder on the desk.

Gaara looked blankly at his file for a brief second before picking it up and opening it. There were a few minutes of quiet reading, which were punctuated by the occasional scoff or chuckle or sigh.

"Fuck you, Iruka," Kiba muttered at his diagnosis sheet.

Naruto looked up from his evaluation to see Sasuke close his file slowly, a pensive look on his shadowed face.

"Wanna see mine? Let me see yours," Naruto said with a grin gracing his features. Sasuke's lips quirked slightly and he once again approached the large desk. After trading records with Naruto, Sasuke then sat on Iruka's uncluttered workspace rather than return to the wall.

"This is from before you ran away," Sasuke commented off-handedly.

Naruto gave a small laugh and replied with, "Says here that sociopaths are very rare."

"You think you're hot shit because you're a sociopath?" Kiba asked from his spot by the window.

Sasuke didn't bother to reply to the bantering remark.

"...tends to be narcissistic..." Naruto continued. "...good though distant relationship with other patients...uncertainty about goals...impulsive in activities that may be self-damaging in the long run...such as casual sex," he finished.

Sasuke nearly choked. His head whipped around and he stared at his roommate. As soon as Naruto realised Iruka was alluding to the nights he'd spent in Sasuke's bed, a deep blush raced across his face, causing the three scars on each cheek to stand out.

Everyone but Gaara, who was still absently reading, and Lee, who had fallen asleep with his head on Gaara's lap, looked over at the two at Iruka's desk.

"I like that," Shikamaru said with a wink.

"Well, that's you," Kiba added, leering at Sasuke.

"That's everybody. I mean, what kind of sex isn't casual?" Sakura said before returning to scan the numerous documents in her record.

"They mean promiscuous," Shikamaru said with a smile, his closed file in hand.

"I'm not promiscuous," Sasuke said, not sure if he really wanted to go on and defend himself in depth. It wasn't that he didn't want to disclose information about himself to a gathering of lunatics, it was that he was reluctant to announce to a bunch of teenagers that he was a virgin--like he'd said, sociopath meant he wasn't a people-person.

Sasuke noticed the smiles his comment had sparked.

"I'm not," he protested again, fighting his own smile.

Yawns caught like the plague as the caffeine's effect faded from their bodies. Everyone passed their files back to Naruto, who put them back in the desk drawer. As they all gradually pulled themselves out of their chairs or off the floor--Gaara had to prod Lee several times to get the boy awake enough to stand--Naruto stood and flicked off the stylish desk lamp, plunging the room into a momentary, blinding darkness.

Sasuke heard several stumbles and one or two grumbled complaints as the group made their way to the bright hallway. He heard Naruto stand and make his way around the desk until Sasuke felt his roommate's hand land on his knee. He felt a slight pressure from Naruto's hand on his leg and then a pair of warm, slightly chapped lips tentatively pressing against his own.

* * *

**End Part Three**

* * *

_Author's Note_:

Some reviewers who have more knowledge of mental diseases than I have pointed out a few things for me. **emily** altered my definition of autism, saying that it's not really a psychiatric disorder, though it is usually treated as one. It's actually a neurodevelopmental disorder but I did get the charictaristics right. So woot. Glad to know I wasn't too far off.

And **mkh2** made some corrections of her own. I'll post her comment rather than attempt to summarize them:

"It should be mentioned that both psychopaths and sociopaths do both exhibit similar antisocial behaviour (the definition you listed for psychopath can also be listed for sociopath), a psychopath is a person who does not understand the concepts of right and wrong and that is the reason they act out badly without empathy or remorse: they simply do not know better. Sociopaths, however, do have a sense of right and wrong but, as they tend to be narcissistic, they simply do not care and proceed to act thusly either way."


	4. Part IV

**Out Of It**

**IV**

* * *

Sasuke woke with a sense of happiness, the seclusion ward's white ceiling coming into focus slowly. The previous night had been the last of his four-day sojourn in the ward and tonight he would move back into his and Naruto's room. His good behaviour meant he didn't have to spend the day alone and so, while pulling on his usual outfit, he decided to have breakfast in the canteen.

Sasuke had always gotten up before most of the other patients in the ward, especially Naruto, who had always been a heavy sleeper. As a result, the only others in the canteen that morning were the orderlies on duty and Chouji, who was hidden behind a tray stocked with a tower of plates with different breakfast foods on them.

Sasuke settled on toast and as he sat down at an empty table, several others entered. Kin wandered in with her nose in the air. Kakashi entered after her, prodding Gaara in the back to get him to move. As Sasuke munched, he noted the massive gourd the red-head had strapped to his back and assumed it was filled with sand.

Seeing Sasuke, Kakashi directed Gaara over to his table. After four days of relative isolation, a small wisp of dread unfurled in Sasuke's gut as they approached. He wasn't sure he really wanted to be around many people quite yet. He did his best to push away the discomfort, telling himself Gaara was just as irritable around people as he was, so there was no reason to try and be sociable.

"Sit," Kakashi ordered, pulling out a chair.

Gaara scowled but obeyed.

"How about toast?" Kakashi suggested in his usual carefree disposition.

Gaara sulked silently.

"Toast it is!" Kakashi chirped before moving towards the buffet area.

Sasuke continued to eat. He and Gaara occasionally blinked at each other.

"Morning," a sleepy voice said. Its owner flung himself into the seat next to Sasuke. Sasuke again fought the uneasiness at being so close to someone and forced himself to swallow.

Naruto yawned loudly and Kakashi chose that moment to return with a plate stacked with about ten pieces of toast.

After Naruto had eaten his fill and Gaara had blatantly refused (though had tucked several slices into his pocket to eat later), the three headed back over to C-class. Gaara made a beeline for his room and closed the door solidly behind him. Naruto looked after him sleepily and wandered in the direction of the rec room. Sasuke followed nonchalantly, hands in his pockets.

"Too early..." Naruto muttered.

"It's already 10:30, idiot," Sasuke replied.

"Going back to bed," the blonde mumbled and turned in the direction of their room.

As he moved, he noticed Sasuke looking over at the green couch, appearing puzzled. Naruto looked over and saw TenTen sitting with her hands limp at her sides. She was wearing one of the hospital gowns and staring blankly into space.

"They must have taken her to the Shock Shop. They only do that if you get really violent and TenTen usually likes throwing things. After Lee and Gaara's big fight, Lee was shocked once a week for ages."

"Have you been shocked?" Sasuke asked.

"Once or twice. I blame Kyuubi for that," Naruto said with a shudder. He pushed open their door and started pulling off his orange and black jacket. "You missed some stuff while you were in Seclusion."

He tossed his jacket somewhere over his shoulder and flopped onto his bed, snuggling into his pillow.

"What do I care?" Sasuke said in a bored voice as he sat on the floor, his back against his own bed, which was parallel to Naruto's.

"Neji came for another visit. He told me Hinata was re-diagnosed with a mild case of Asberger's rather than plain old autism. Oh and you also had a visitor too, but he said he'd come back."

"Who?"

"Some really pale guy with weird eye make-up and long hair."

Sasuke froze. Naruto looked over from his relaxed position when he didn't make any sort of comment and noted his tense posture. Rather than get up, Naruto just sort of rolled off his bed and landed ungracefully on the floor. He slid over to sit in front of Sasuke and put on a large grin.

"Wanna trade?"

Sasuke seemed to shake himself out of it and rather than face Naruto, who was now a foot away from him, he turned his head to look out the window. "Trade what?"

"I'll tell you about my scars," Naruto said pointing to his face. "And you tell me about..." He moved to touch the mark on Sasuke's neck but when Sasuke tensed further, he pointed at it instead. Sasuke didn't respond but now Naruto had his full attention.

"Kyuubi decided he didn't like how I looked and wanted to mark a part that he could call his own."

"So it's your body?" Sasuke asked.

"Yup. Kyuubi just lives there, but he sees most everything I do, I think."

"Kick him out."

"Eh..." Naruto scratched the back of his head absently. "Harder than it looks."

Naruto shifted slightly and Sasuke felt some of his tension fade as he re-acclimated himself to his roommate's presence.

"But...Iruka's been talking to me a lot. I think, maybe, I can fight Kyuubi and judging from my file, I think Iruka thinks I can too. My file was really optimistic sounding," Naruto scratched the back of his neck abashedly again.

"Iruka's good to you, huh?" Sasuke asked in a voice that was friendlier than his usual uninterested tone.

"It's kind of like having a dad," Naruto confessed happily. Then he said in a more serious manner, "You should talk to him too, Sasuke. He's one of the good guys. Now, tell me what's with your tattoo."

To Naruto's disappointment, Sasuke lowered his eyes. "It's...it's just another reminder that I have to kill my brother," he said quietly

An awkward silence suddenly fell like a wall between the two boys. Naruto didn't like it one bit and decided to break it.

"Wh--"

"Checks," Asuma called in, giving them a cursory glance before again closing the door.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and stuck his tongue out at where the orderly had been a second before. Sasuke marvelled at how immature Naruto could be, even at sixteen. Then the blonde turned back to Sasuke to ask his question.

"Why does it have to be _you_ that kills him?"

At this, Sasuke met his roommate's gaze head on, an unreadable look on his face. Naruto appeared confused and Sasuke wondered why nobody, not one person, had directly asked him that before. Either no one had been fool enough to ask him so outright or the question was phrased in such a way that answering it would mean something completely different. But suddenly, here it was, the opportunity to let it all out. And Sasuke had no idea what to do with it.

"He...killed my entire family," Sasuke said slowly, as though he were forcing out every word.

Naruto didn't interrupt, for which Sasuke was very grateful. He wasn't sure he would've been able to start again.

"And I...I don't understand why I'm not...allowed to kill him. Why no one will let me..."

Naruto saw the sad, far off look in Sasuke's eyes and realised that his roommate was quickly spiralling inside himself. Naruto growled slightly and reached forward to grip his friend's shoulders. He shook hard, trying to pull Sasuke back to reality. Automatically, Sasuke took a swipe at Naruto, who fell backwards in time to avoid the sloppy shot at his chest.

The sudden violence caused Kyuubi to stir, and Naruto could feel his other half try to push to the foreground. It was like a pressure behind his eyeballs, and in his fingers, and in his stomach. But unleashing Kyuubi's nastiness on Sasuke while he was in such a distressed, vulnerable state was not just a bad idea. It could be disastrous, irreparable even.

Trying not to panic, Naruto started to take several deep breaths, doing his best to force Kyuubi away. He would not lose Sasuke because of his other half. He felt Kyuubi push back and his hands flew to his head.

"Stop it, stop it, stop it..." He said through gritted teeth.

Sasuke just stared, Naruto's own struggle dragging his attention away from the dark pit inside himself. He reached a hand out hesitantly. He didn't want Kyuubi around either.

_But_, Sasuke thought helplessly as he watched his roommate squeeze his eyes shut and clutch his head. _But what do I do?_

Suddenly, Naruto's breathing calmed and he rested his head on the floor tiredly. There was a pause and Sasuke was unsure of what to do; he didn't know who had won the mental battle.

"I told you it was too early..." Naruto mumbled, his blue eyes peering up at Sasuke from his dishevelled place on the floor.

Sasuke blinked for a minute, his hand still extended awkwardly. But then a genuine, if small, smile grew on his face. Naruto let out an exhausted laugh and sat up with his own broad smile. He leaned forward and Sasuke's hand finally came to rest on Naruto's shoulder. But before they could get any closer, their door flew open.

Naruto nearly choked as he suddenly crashed to the floor and Sasuke's face became his patent you've-got-to-be-kidding-me scowl.

They both looked balefully at Kakashi, who stood nonplussed in their doorway.

"Sasuke, you have a visitor."

Sasuke and Naruto glanced at each other. Then Sasuke stood up to follow the masked orderly. Naruto hurried after them, leaving his orange and black jacket on the floor.

Kakashi led them to the rec room, where the tall visitor stood in front of the nurse's station. He turned to face them as they approached.

"Orochimaru," Sasuke said, refusing to allow any trepidation in his actions or words. Though the dread he'd briefly felt at breakfast roared back tenfold.

"Hey, guess what?" Sakura said as she bounced over towards the two boys.

Orochimaru gave Sasuke a pointed smile as Kakashi moved into the nurse station's office. Naruto stared defiantly into the man's snake-like eyes. He wasn't sure why but something about this guy's pasty face was making him want to squirm.

"Excuse Sasuke and me for a moment," he said in a confident drawl. He put a hand on Sasuke's stiff shoulder and pulled him away from the other two patients.

"Who's that?" Sakura asked Naruto curiously.

"Not sure. But I don't like him," Naruto replied, crossing his arms over his black t-shirt clad chest.

Sakura stood, looking after Sasuke and his visitor for a second. "Yeah, me neither. He's creeping me out. But guess what?"

"What?" Naruto responded automatically, keeping one eye on Sasuke, who was standing rigidly in the corner as Orochimaru spoke to him.

"I've been switched to Dr. Tsunade, which means I'm getting better, right?"

"That's great, Sakura-chan! Yeah, every patient who's had Old Lady Tsunade has gotten better real soon..." He said, his enthusiasm and words trailing off as he became more distracted by Sasuke's actions.

Sasuke was shaking his head at Orochimaru words and crossing his arms in front of his chest defensively. Naruto had never seen Sasuke so uncomfortable. He almost appeared frightened. Sakura looked around at her crush and noticed Kakashi's distrusting stare from behind the nurse station window.

"Why doesn't Kakashi make that man leave?" She whispered.

"He can't really. Not unless he breaks the rules, and all he's doing is talking," Naruto muttered back, his eyes never leaving Sasuke.

Orochimaru reached out and quickly tugged Sasuke's t-shirt collar to the side, baring the vivid black mark on his neck. Sasuke visibly jumped and tried to twist away. Naruto clenched his fists angrily and he scoured the room for a way to help.

Ino, Lee, Kiba, Shikamaru, Chouji, were all in vicinity and Gaara was sticking his head out of his room. All were also watching closely and Naruto got an idea. He spun around in circles to grab their attention and when he was sure he had it, he flashed them a toothy, humourless grin.

"I'M DYING! I'M DYING! THERE'S A BOMB ON MY HEAD! THE FISHES ARE GONNA BLOW ME TO SMITHEREENS!!" He hollered at the top of his lungs, becoming the undeniable focus of the entire room. He started jumping up and down, flailing wildly for a minute before grabbing a wide-eyed Sakura's arms and spinning her around. "THEY'RE COMING FOR YOU TOOOOO!!"

"For the sake of youth, we must do our best!" Lee declared, nodding at Naruto.

He then hopped onto the back of the couch and flipped off it, landing in a handstand. He began walking around the room on his hands, and Ino started to absolutely scream. Her shrieks joined Naruto's and Lee became a green blur as he began doing mad cartwheels around the room.

Kyuubi donated a very loud, maniacal laugh, which started Chouji's own hysterical laughter. Chouji picked up a chair and began making a pile of furniture on top of the red couch. Shikamaru sighed but then moved to grab the tissue box on the table near him. He then proceeded to run around the rec room throwing tissues over his shoulders as he went.

Kiba sat on the floor, threw his head back, and started howling at the ceiling as though he were baying to the moon herself.

"BOMB! FISHES! BOMB! GEMINI!" Naruto continued hollering as he danced wildly, swatting at the space around his head the entire time.

Orochimaru eyed the patients around him apprehensively. Sasuke hurriedly pulled away as the entire ward seemed to go nuts all at once.

Sand came flying out of nowhere; Kiba was barking and growling at Chouji's castle of furniture, which now featured the still-out-of-it TenTen at the top; Shikamaru found another box of tissues and continued hurling them around the room; Ino had tears streaming down her cheeks as she bawled; and Lee was trying to pick a fight with the wall. It wasn't long until Kakashi and all the other orderlies were running around frantically trying to calm everyone.

Sasuke allowed himself to be enveloped in the chaos, choosing a whirlwind of mental patients over Orochimaru's company.

In the midst of holding the screaming and crying Ino to his chest and calling to Kurenai to get TenTen down, Kakashi approached Orochimaru and nonchalantly informed him that the ward seemed to be a bit hyper today and would he mind leaving now?

Kakashi smirked underneath his mask as Orochimaru reluctantly exited and the patients gradually settled down.

* * *

Kakashi had Chouji, Ino, Shikamaru, Gaara, Lee, Sakura, Naruto, and Sasuke lined up in front of him in the rec room. Every one of them was covered in sand and their throats were raw from shouting but each wore a satisfied smile, even Gaara.

Kakashi paced back and forth in front of them, his hands behind his back.

"So...who wants to tell me what happened?" He asked, already guessing the answer. He looked at Naruto, who shrugged, unable to stop smiling.

"Weirdo snake guy was freaking Sasuke out. So we freaked him out."

There was a small chorus of agreement except for Sasuke, who mumbled an embarrassed, "No, he wasn't."

But Kakashi noticed Sasuke's hand still hadn't retreated from its safe position over the tattoo on his neck.

The silver-haired orderly sighed. "Some of you still have chores to finish as punishment for sneaking out the other night but for this, you're all confined to your rooms for the rest of the day. Ah...first, help get all the sand back into Gaara's room. Go on," he said, waving them away.

Kakashi walked over to join the other orderlies in returning the furniture to their original positions while the line of patients scattered. Ino and Sakura walked off giggling together. Gaara casually brushed some of his sand off of Lee's shoulders. Chouji clapped Shikamaru on the back and started talking about barbeque. All headed for different parts of the room, except for Naruto, who stood with his hands behind his head next to the still immobile Sasuke.

"You're an idiot," the dark-haired boy said quietly.

Naruto frowned, his arms coming down as he turned to retort angrily. But then he saw that his friend was still looking at ground abashedly, and figured that this was just Sasuke's weird, sociopath way of saying thank you.

So Naruto responded with a you're welcome: "Yeah, well, you're a bastard."

A small smile flitted across Sasuke's face and gently, his hand drifted off and away from the mark, leaving it clear for all to see.

Naruto put a hand on Sasuke's shoulder, leant in quickly before Sasuke could figure out what he was doing, and placed the lightest kiss on the vibrant black mark. Sasuke froze in surprise but didn't move to pull away. A memory of the same kiss gracing his lips two nights ago dominated his mind and he knew then without a doubt that it hadn't been Kyuubi who'd kissed him in the dark of Iruka's office.

A warmth spiralled out from the fleeting touch of his roommate's lips, an unfamiliar heat spreading from his sensitive neck to curl into fire in his gut. Sasuke could feel his skin prickling hot from the sensation and suddenly...suddenly he wanted more.

All this lasted about four seconds and Naruto seemed to step back in slow motion. Sasuke's hand moved with its own purpose and grasped Naruto's wrist. He calmly moved down the boys' hall, tugging Naruto behind him before the blond registered that Sasuke had moved.

Sasuke's eyes scanned the area quickly. His calculating mind quickly nixed their bedroom (too many interruptions) and the janitor's closet (they were using mops and brooms to clean up), and then his eyes landed on the art supply closet.

Bingo.

It was unlocked, and so Sasuke nonchalantly opened it, glanced around, noted that everyone was busy cleaning, and coolly pushed Naruto in. Looking around once more, Sasuke then followed him.

There was some haphazard shuffling in the dark as Naruto locked the door and Sasuke searched for the light switch. A roll of paper towels fell to the floor with a soft thud as half of the fluorescent ceiling light flickered to life, showering the boys in its dim half-wattage.

There was a pause. Naruto was leaning against the door, quiet for once. Sasuke stood about a foot away from him, suddenly awkward. Then the impact of their close proximity hit him and the odd heat returned full force, dousing his body in it like lit kerosene.

Sasuke advanced quickly, sliding his hands into Naruto's unruly blond hair and pressing their mouths together. As Sasuke watched Naruto's eyes fall to half-mast, he was still battling a small barrage of doubts and worries. This battle soon dropped to the background when he felt Naruto's mouth open against his own. One of Sasuke's hands fell behind Naruto's head so he could brace himself against the door.

A low moan escaped Sasuke when Naruto's tongue suddenly curled around his own. Their bodies pressed together and the kiss became deeper, more desperate. The hand still in Naruto's hair roughly tilted his head sideways. Naruto's arms snaked around his roommate's hips, his hands clutching Sasuke's shirt as he pulled Sasuke's lean body _hard_ against his own.

Out of breath, Sasuke pulled back to suck in some air, his eyes drooping from the feel of Naruto's very warm body adding to the heat he was feeling. His head dropped to Naruto's neck, his hot mouth hungrily sucking on the sensitive skin there. Naruto threw his head back, his mouth falling open from the sensation. Sasuke's eyes sank closed as he took in the salty taste of Naruto's neckline, his entire being focused on memorizing it.

"Knew you liked it too," a familiar voice snarled.

Sasuke allowed himself a small sigh before pulling back, holding Kyuubi in place with the hand still clenched in his blond hair. Sasuke's eyes hardened instantly as he met Kyuubi's self-satisfied smile.

"Yeah, but not with you," he said evenly.

Kyuubi's angry blue eyes narrowed in understanding before they suddenly softened into Naruto's lust-rimmed ones.

Sasuke's hand loosened from its grip in Naruto's hair and slid down to rest at the nape of his neck.

Feeling the possessive hand cupping back of his neck, Naruto breathed, "Thanks."

Sasuke leaned in suddenly, pressing their foreheads together in an intimate gesture completely juxtaposed by his next action. Sasuke ground his body hard into Naruto's. He smirked as he felt a rigid bulge press against his own and heard Naruto gasp in some air.

Sasuke resumed his feast on Naruto's neck, his hands sliding under the hem of the blonde's black t-shirt. Naruto groaned when he felt hot hands snaking up over the muscles of his chest, and reached to pull his shirt over his head.

Sasuke paused only long enough to help Naruto drop the shirt to the side before attacking the blonde's mouth with a force that surprised even himself. Any second thoughts about wanting what was happening faded out of reach again as Naruto's mouth slanted against his own with equal fervour.

One hand grabbed a fistful of dark hair while the other dragged lazily around the top of Sasuke's white shorts. Sasuke's breath grew shallow and ragged against Naruto's lips as he felt a hand dip under the waistband of his boxers. Naruto's palm dragged lightly along Sasuke's erection and Sasuke ducked his head, pressing his face into the crook of Naruto's neck.

The blonde's hand grasped Sasuke's straining cock and started pumping. Dark hair brushed scarred cheeks and Naruto felt Sasuke's erratic breathing against his ear. Sasuke's fingers scrabbled aimlessly against Naruto's sides as a light blush scalded his face and neck. Sasuke felt the coil of heat in his stomach tighten as the blonde's hand sped up.

The guy who could easily be called his best friend had his hand inside his shorts and was touching him like no one else ever had...this fleeting thought finally pushed Sasuke over the edge, and a low groan escaped him. His eyes squeezed shut as he shot his load over Naruto's warm hand.

Head still buzzing, Sasuke tipped his head sideways and met Naruto's mouth in a sloppy kiss. He felt Naruto's hand pull out of his messy boxers and instinctively stray to the bulge in his own. Sasuke quickly grabbed both of Naruto's wrists and as he pinned them to the door, he slid a leg in between Naruto's thighs.

Sasuke began a slow grind against the hardness he found until Naruto was panting, his head falling backwards to knock against the door once or twice.

"Shut up," Sasuke grunted out.

Naruto glared at him through half-lidded eyes even as his hips tilted, trying to create more friction between their rocking bodies.

Looking at what the simple contact was doing to his roommate, Sasuke considered tugging down the blonde's vibrant orange pants, dropping to his knees and sucking him off properly. That thought brought back Sasuke's rampant blush. He was new at this; who knew how any of this worked? His actions faltered for a few seconds as he hesitated.

At the pause, Naruto strained against the hands pinning his, and Sasuke decided to just return the favour. For now.

He released one of Naruto's hands and cupped the solid bulge through the fabric of his pants for a moment before moving to pull down the fly and delve inside. Cool fingers skimmed Naruto's length before grasping it fully. Sasuke dragged his hand in the same manner Naruto had done to him: slow and loose at first before speeding up and getting tighter.

Sasuke liked the sound of Naruto breathing heavily, liked the thrill on Naruto's face, and liked knowing he caused them. He leaned forward slightly to tug at the blonde's earlobe with his teeth.

"Sa-Sasuke..."

Naruto moaned loudly, his fingers digging into Sasuke's shoulders and his back arching as he came. Sasuke covered Naruto's open mouth with his own to stifle the sound. His hand, now very wet and sticky, slowed its ministrations.

Naruto stumbled, his knees finally giving way. Still wrapped around him, Sasuke sank to the floor with his roommate. They lay flopped on each other and on the closet floor, both tired and waiting hesitantly for some repercussion. Like Kyuubi or Sasuke's paranoid introversion to unexpectedly appear and slap them in the face.

Sasuke's arms were resting on Naruto's shoulders while the blonde was haphazardly draped across Sasuke's legs, his face pressed into his blue shirt. He let out a muffled laugh and raised his head to grin at Sasuke.

"Promiscuous."

Sasuke's eyes narrowed and he responded with an almost affectionate, "Idiot."

* * *

**End Part Four**

* * *

_Author's Note_:

Special thanks to **crowkeeper990**, who pointed out that Hinata's condition more closely resembled Asberger's rather than autism and so influenced the rest of this story.


	5. Part V

**Out Of It**

**V**

* * *

Sasuke stared out of Iruka's wide windows at the snow that was gently falling. It clung to the window sill in clumps.

Iruka cleared his throat to get the dark-haired boy's attention. Sasuke nearly refused to look over. He didn't want to play Iruka's game. Then Naruto's words came back to him and reluctantly, Sasuke tugged his gaze to look at the therapist, who was sitting relaxed in his desk chair.

Sasuke had to give the man some credit; their hour-long session was more than halfway done and all Sasuke had offered were noncommittal, one-word replies. Yet Iruka remained calm and patient, like he had for every session over the last few months.

"I've noticed over that your antisocial tendencies seem to be doing better. You talk often with Naruto, am I right?"

"Yes. Can I see my brother yet?"

Iruka sighed and stood. He came around to perch on the edge of his desk in front of his patient.

Sasuke tried to concentrate on Iruka's answer--he briefly wondered if talking to other patients in the ward had given him any credibility--but a memory intruded on his thoughts. Sasuke had been sitting exactly where his psychologist was and his roommate's warm mouth had been pressed against his own in the dark.

Blinking to clear the memory away, Sasuke realised Iruka was in the middle of denying his request again.

"...ward to ward visits usually aren't permitted anyhow and your condition makes it difficult."

"Sociopathy," Sasuke stated.

"We diagnosed you as a sociopath, yes. Do you understand what that entails? Do you know what a sociopath is?"

This was a new twist on the conversation topics Iruka usually presented him. If the doctor had done this to purposely intrigue him, Sasuke could admit it was working.

"I'm not a people person, right?"

"That's a basic definition of it. Antisocial Personality Disorder means you have no real moral concern for anyone besides yourself."

Sasuke frowned slightly. This irked something in him but he wasn't sure why. The description was correct, after all.

Iruka paused at Sasuke's reaction. But when Sasuke didn't say anything, he continued, "Sociopaths believe they are free from the rules of society and often don't feel the guilt associated with crimes."

"It's not a crime to kill a homicidal maniac. The government does it all the time," Sasuke growled out.

"Ah, but you're not the gov--"

A knock at the door interrupted. Both Iruka and Sasuke glanced at the clock on the mantelpiece and Iruka couldn't help rolling his eyes.

"Come in!" He called.

As Kakashi entered, Iruka turned to Sasuke and said calmly, "I guess we'll wrap it up for today."

Sasuke stood and automatically made to follow the masked orderly.

"You're late, Kakashi," Iruka said, walking back around his desk to retake his seat.

"Eh...A door fell off its hinges and into my path when I was walking down the hallway and I couldn't possibly continue without fixing it and, uh, repainting it...Bye Iruka!" Kakashi said as he hurriedly pushed Sasuke out the door.

Usually, Sasuke would smirk in amusement and ponder how Kakashi managed to come up with an original excuse each time he was late to collect him. Which was every time.

But today, Sasuke's hand found its way to the seal on his neck and he got lost, rifling through his thoughts.

As he tugged on his coat and followed Kakashi out of the building, the words 'no concern for anyone' kept repeating in his mind. He absently wondered if that was really true. He liked Naruto. Well, he liked the feel of Naruto's body against his own, he knew that much. But what else about Naruto did he like?

Thinking hard, Sasuke came to the realisation that he really couldn't answer that question. He tried to pinpoint why he kept talking to his loud roommate, why he kept hanging around him, why they kept...

If Kakashi noticed Sasuke's troubled silence, he didn't comment. As they entered the warmth of C-class, he merely told Sasuke to keep his coat with him. Sasuke stared into space and eventually his hand sank, coming to rest at his side.

Did he really have no concern for others? Sasuke wasn't sure what alarmed him most: the fact that he may not care if everyone around him died again or the fact that he couldn't tell.

Lost in his thoughts, Sasuke paid no attention to the rest of the mostly-stable patients, the nurses, and the volunteer nurses who had started to gather in a loose group.

Above the noise of everyone pulling on their winter coats and snow boots, Kakashi addressed the orderlies: "Kurenai, you'll be assigned Hinata, Kiba, and Shino. Asuma, please take Ino, Shikamaru, and Chouji. Gai, I'm trusting you with Lee, as usual, and also TenTen and Gaara. You'll each have two volunteer nurses to help you."

Ino sulked and folded her arms with a "Hmph."

Asuma looked at her and crouched down. "You just got your clothes privileges back, Yamanaka. You can stand one little outing," he said.

She sighed but Asuma's argument seemed to work. She finished buttoning up her thick, purple coat.

"Sakura, Sasuke, Naruto...you three will be in my group," Kakashi said cheerfully.

Sasuke came back to earth when he heard Naruto's name. He hadn't noticed his roommate's approach, maybe because the boy's orange and black ensemble was mostly covered by a heavy, navy coat that looked far too big on him.

Sakura was also eying it with curiosity. "Is that your jacket?"

Naruto looked a little flustered at this. "No! It's an old one of Kakashi's."

"You don't have your own?"

"That's enough, Sakura," Sasuke said, effectively stopping any more of the pink-haired girl's questions.

She frowned but when she noticed Naruto looking at the ground, realisation spread across her face. She bit her lip.

"Alright!" Kakashi said, clapping his hands and moving towards the exit. "If we're all ready, let's head off. Everyone remember to stay in your teams!"

* * *

"Taking us for ice creams in a blizzard...makes you wonder who the real whack jobs are," Sasuke muttered as they walked along the footpath down the street.

The snow had stopped falling and now crunched fresh under their feet. Sasuke tucked his numb hands into his pockets.

"You know, I think it's kind of nice. I mean, I think it's nice to do something nice on Gaara's last day," Naruto babbled, skipping around on someone's once-pristine-white front lawn before a look from Kakashi had him bouncing back.

Sasuke peered at the parade of mental patients and nurses in front of him, his eyes landing on Gaara's red hair, which could barely be seen over the massive gourd strapped to his back.

"Why are they letting him leave? I mean, he is crazy," the dark-haired teen said, his thoughts flickering to Gaara's sandbox of a bedroom.

"He's got an important daddy," Sakura said, her voice a little harsher than usual.

"Inner Sakura," Naruto stated simply.

"Argh! It makes me angry! Just because he's got money, he thinks he can buy Gaara's sanity!" She clenched her fists.

"Well...as long as Gaara has his sand, he's usually okay..." Naruto said, trailing off when Sakura turned to stare at him.

"Ehehe...ne, Sasuke, how was Iruka?" Naruto said, quickly changing the focus to Sasuke, one of Sakura's favourite topics.

Sasuke shot Naruto an irritated look as Sakura's eyes lit up and landed on him. He escaped having to deal with her affections when Lee proclaimed loudly, "WE'RE HERE!"

The ice-cream shop was small, with a handful of old-fashioned booths and tables scattered around the room.

"Gai, you know to keep Lee in check," Sasuke heard Kakashi mutter behind him.

"Oh, fuck!" Kiba yelled for no apparent reason.

"I'll have peppermint stick," Lee said eagerly to the cashier as he hung over the counter.

"Me too. Can I have peppermint stick?" Naruto chirped up.

"Sure," the teenaged clerk said in a bored tone.

"It's just called peppermint," Gaara said irritably from the back.

"Okay. We're just going to have four chocolate cones," Kurenai said, glancing behind at her team for confirmation. Hinata blushed and nodded slightly before looking at the floor. Shino also nodded and Kiba gave her a thumbs up.

"Four cones," the teenager repeated.

"The clerks are new," Naruto mumbled to Sasuke out of the side of his mouth. "Every time we come here, there are always new clerks. No one hangs around after the loony bin visits."

"Sasuke, do you want anything?" Kakashi asked as he waded through the group.

"I'm fine," Sasuke said.

He pulled away from the mob, swerved around the lollipop stand, and moved towards the back of the store. He claimed a booth and slid in, glancing over as he unzipped his coat. Sakura was leaning with her elbows on the glossy counter. She subtly pushed her breasts forward and locked eyes with the clerk.

"Say, uh..." She read off the nametag on the teen's striped uniform. "Ronny. Got any hot fudge?"

"Yes," he said, staring avidly at her.

No outsider could tell, but all the mental patients knew that Inner Sakura was currently speaking. Sasuke still had trouble recognizing the difference between Sakura's two sides but a sidelong glance from Naruto confirmed any suspicions.

Inner Sakura appeared thoughtful for a second. Then she tilted forward slightly and wet her lips to make sure she had all of Ronny's attention.

"Okay, can I have a vanilla sundae with hot fudge and...sprinkles--rainbow, not chocolate--and...hmm, whipped cream, cherries...and...erm..." She paused, seeming to forget the last topping. She looked at Ronny with big hopeful eyes, expecting him to help her out.

The unsuspecting clerk walked right into it. "Nuts?"

At this, Kyuubi couldn't hold it in any longer and gales of laughter escaped him as he fell into hysterics. A ripple of giggles went through the group and Ronny looked around, nervously confused.

"All right, have a seat," Kakashi said. He hid a small smile behind his dark mask as he ushered the rowdy teenaged patients to the tables and booths.

The broadly smiling Kyuubi noticed Sasuke looking his way. Their eyes met and Kyuubi's grin became lascivious. He ran his tongue over his teeth and moved toward his dark-haired roommate.

Sasuke grew wary as the blonde approached him but when the blonde sat down opposite him in the booth, Naruto was at the wheel again. A second later, Kakashi appeared out of nowhere to hand Naruto his peppermint ice-cream and then promptly disappeared.

"Where were you this morning? You weren't in our room when I left for Iruka's," Sasuke asked in his usual nonchalant manner as he rested his elbows on the table and folded his hands in front of him.

"With Haku," Naruto said, punctuating his speech with advances on his ice-cream cone. "He loves snow because it reminds him of when he was a little kid and he still had his mom and dad. Oh! And because of Zabuza, who's this weird guy who visits him a lot..."

Sasuke stopped listening around the second or third word. His throat suddenly felt a bit too dry. Naruto's tongue kept distracting him. It darted out to swipe the smooth ice-cream, swirling to catch stray drops before they dribbled too far down the cone. Naruto continued talking in between licks, oblivious to the effect he was having on his roommate. Said roommate hid a hard swallow behind his laced fingers.

* * *

"You never told me what happened with psycho snaky guy yesterday," Naruto prompted later as they lounged on their beds. "I mean this is like his...what? Fourth visit?"

Sasuke rested his chin on his pillow and stared at the wall. Naruto tucked his hands behind his head as he waited for Sasuke's reply.

"He told me I wasn't crazy again and offered to take me home."

Naruto looked over quickly. He hadn't known there were still people Sasuke would consider returning home to.

"So, who is he?"

Sasuke sighed and rolled onto his back. When he finally spoke, it was to the ceiling. "He was a friend of my brother's...He...he's the reason I have this tattoo." At this, Sasuke spared a glance in Naruto's direction. "Itachi was always difficult but he was...worse around Orochimaru. I remember, when I was a little kid, whenever they were over at our house, I'd hide."

"What made snake-guy think tattooing his friend's kid brother was a good idea?" Naruto asked as he pulled himself into a sitting position, still looking intensely at his friend.

"Orochimaru ran some underground operation. Probably drugs or something. And he liked his worker underlings to have a mark." Sasuke fought the urge to reach up and cover his tattoo as he continued reciting his story to the white ceiling. "One day, my parents were out and Itachi and he were bored, and Orochimaru decided I could use the tattoo. And Itachi was...fine with it. That was the last day I spoke to my brother. Then a week later, he..." Sasuke paused and closed his eyes, his face expressionless.

Naruto frowned for a second before catching on. "Oh."

The door opened.

"Checks," Asuma called in, clipboard in hand. "And it's time for evening meds so head over to Shizune."

He left the door open and moved onto the next room.

The two boys slowly hauled themselves off their comfortable beds. Sasuke's eyes were clouded and mostly hidden by his dark bangs. He made to exit their room when Naruto's arms wrapped around his shoulders unexpectedly.

He halted in midstep and stood still.

"Thank you for telling me," Naruto said quietly. "Even if it sucks and it sucks talking about it."

Sasuke's head raised a little and his hands slowly came up to grasp Naruto's forearms.

In a whirlwind of green, Lee twirled past their open door and they heard a crash a second later.

Letting go of each other, they hurried out into the hallway to find Lee sprawled across a surprised Gaara. Lee lifted himself slightly, shaking his head to clear it.

Gaara had landed uncomfortably on top of the gourd strapped to his back. He sat up as much as he could without bumping Lee, who was still on his hands and knees, hovering over the prone redhead. He hurriedly looked back and forth between Gaar and the sandy-looking suitcases outside his door.

"Ready?" Kakashi asked, appearing behind them.

"Now?" Lee asked, flabbergasted.

Gaara's eyes, which had widened to the size of dinner plates at their collision, returned to their normal steely expression.

"Yes, now," Kakashi said as he leaned down to grasp the handles of the two suitcases.

He easily picked them up and walked down the hall towards the doors that would lead them to the outside of the building. Lee's eyes became liquid as his prerogative for histrionics rose to the surface. Tears streamed down his cheeks and he flung his arms around Gaara's small shoulders, crying loudly.

Kakashi glanced over his shoulder and sighed. Gaara breathed slowly as the other boy sobbed into his chest. Slowly, his arm came up to settle on Lee's back.

"I'll write," Gaara said evenly.

Lee's tearstained face looked up to meet Gaara's nonchalant attitude. A joyous smile broke through at full wattage and Gaara got the full force of it.

"C'mon, Lee. Let Gaara up," TenTen said in a friendly voice. She still didn't have her own clothes back; but she looked much healthier.

Lee reluctantly took her outstretched hand and allowed her to pull him to his feet. He then spun on his heel to make the same offer to Gaara. Gaara hesitated and then put his hands on the floor and got to his feet sans assistance. Lee sighed as Gaara turned to follow Kakashi, who was now standing by the double doors.

In a flash, Lee had a hand on Gaara's shoulder and spun the boy around to face him. Much to the shock and/or entertainment of those in the vicinity, he then planted a sudden kiss on Gaara's mouth, dipping the smaller teen backwards like an overly-theatrical Hollywood scene. The redhead didn't have time to react before Lee pulled back and shoved him through the double doors.

"Be free and live in the springtime of your youth!" He called, tears of joy cascading freely down his face as he waved.

Still trying to figure out what had just happened, Gaara followed Kakashi to the outside world in a daze.

A small crowd was gathering around the rec room's east window, the one that faced Konoha Hospital's small parking lot and extensive driveway. Everyone peered out through the chicken wire barrier as Gaara shook Kakashi's hand near the open door of his father's shiny black jeep. Gaara got into the car without so much as a glance behind him.

"It's not fair. It's not FAIR!" Ino yelled at the barred window. Her eyes grew watery and she raced to her room, slamming the door behind her.

"Why didn't Gaara have a roommate?" Sasuke asked Sakura, who was on his right.

"Gaara doesn't _do_ roommates. But if he were staying, I bet he wouldn't be so against it now," she said, with plenty of innuendo and a sidelong glance at Lee to emphasize her point.

"That's enough now!" Shizune called across the rec room. "Everyone line up for meds!"

Things processed smoothly until she got to Shikamaru, who was apparently pretending to have visited the Shock Shop and was sitting completely immobile on the red couch. Other than that, the only other discrepancy was the absent Ino.

After the list was complete, Naruto ambled back to the boys' corridor, Sasuke at his side. Neither spoke though Naruto's face was plastered with a lopsided grin. As soon as they were back inside their room, each spat the pills out into their hands.

Naruto took Sasuke's out of his hand and bounded towards his half of the room. As he tucked the pills underneath his mattress, he noticed the dark-haired boy was brooding on his bed again.

"Hey, know what'll make you feel better? Ramen," Naruto stated, standing in the middle of the room with his arms akimbo.

He took Sasuke's blatant lack of response as a 'I'm flattered for the offer but I couldn't possibly.'

"OH! I know! How 'bout we go to Iruka's office tonight and you can see Itachi's file? Would that help?"

Sasuke blinked in surprise at the suggestion. He nodded.

"Hehe," Naruto chuckled, delighted. He scratched the back of his head and looked at Sasuke, whose dark eyes were staring at him unwaveringly.

"You know," Sasuke said casually, eyes flicking to the door and then back to his roommate. "We're only due for checks every twenty minutes in the evening now. I checked the chart."

Naruto caught the look on Sasuke's face and glanced at the little black digital clock on the side table between their beds.

"Uh huh..." The blonde said distractedly as he quickly did the math in his head. Sasuke had no doubt already done so.

There was a stretch of silence. Each boy impatiently felt every minute silently tick by at a snail's pace.

Sasuke looked at the clock. Naruto looked at Sasuke. Sasuke looked at Naruto and then looked at his navy bed. Naruto looked at Sasuke's bed and unconsciously wet his lips. Sasuke's throat grew a little drier as he remembered Naruto's affair with the ice-cream earlier. Naruto glanced at the door. The nearly palpable electricity between them thickened the air until Sasuke's clothes felt too rough and Naruto's clothes felt too hot. Until finally...

"Checks."

Kurenai looked between the two boys curiously for a few seconds. Then she turned, pulling the door behind her at an absurdly slow pace.

Neither boy breathed. Then the sound of the door clicking shut echoed like a gunshot and the tension snapped with an electric crackle.

Naruto's face split into a toothy grin as he stalked towards Sasuke. He pushed the other boy backwards on the bed with a hand to the chest and climbed over him. Their mouths met in a hurried, fierce passion and each let out a small noise of satisfaction.

Sasuke managed to unzip Naruto's orange and black jacket and shoved it off over the blonde's shoulders and down his back until it fell unheeded on the floor. After Naruto's arms were free, his hands found their way under Sasuke's shirt. The feel of warm hands on his skin contrasted with the cool air and Sasuke sucked in his breath as fingernails dragged over his ribcage.

Sasuke gripped Naruto's shoulders and his legs parted, causing the blonde to fall more onto him. Sasuke grunted softly and Naruto inhaled sharply as their groins came into sudden contact.

Naruto slowly rocked his hips into Sasuke's and the dark-haired teen involuntarily bucked in response. The friction of the gradual, deliberate movement soon had Sasuke twisting beneath Naruto with his head thrown back. Both were panting as their pelvises ground together in synch.

Sasuke's hands entangled themselves in his friend's shock of blond hair. He tugged encouragingly and arched his neck and back into the sensation. Naruto pressed a bite into the side of the pale throat and ground down _hard_ once more and sent Sasuke over the edge. With the dark-haired teen squirming in pleasure underneath him, Naruto soon followed suit and groaned something that sounded like Sasuke's name.

Their rapid but slowing breaths mingled against each other's lips. Sasuke met Naruto's heavy-lidded eyes and he felt his face heat up at the sticky mess in his shorts. He looked away, suddenly bashful, and awkwardly released his hold on his roommate. Naruto took the hint and sluggishly pulled himself off him.

They sat on Sasuke's bed, not looking at the other for a second, both keenly aware that they needed a shower. Naruto hesitated, then made a move to get up. A hand on his shoulder stopped him and he turned his head. Sasuke pressed their foreheads together and wondered if he knew how to love. And if it felt anything like this.

* * *

**End Part Five**


	6. Part VI

**Out Of It**

**VI**

* * *

The only light in Iruka's dark office was the desk lamp, which Naruto had turned on. Sasuke closed the folder he was holding and slowly brought it back to the desk, upon which Naruto was sprawled out and dozing with his mouth open.

"Oy, dead-last," he said, prodding his friend's shoulder.

"Eh...what?" Naruto said groggily. He sat up reluctantly, rubbing his eyes. "Ya done?"

Sasuke nodded and handed the file over.

"Anything good?"

The dark-haired boy watched as Naruto hopped off the bureau and replaced the file in the large drawer.

"My brother is..." Sasuke searched for the word with a slight frown. "Crazy."

"Um...no offence but, duh," Naruto said over his shoulder as he fixed the arrangement of Iruka's knickknacks, which he had accidentally shifted while slumbering.

"No, my brother's really crazy."

"Dude, I'm up," Kiba said, sitting upright suddenly. He had curled up and fallen asleep on the carpeted floor not long after Sasuke had cracked open Itachi's file.

"Good. Do your thing, lock-boy," Naruto said, indicating the desk drawer.

Without standing, Kiba dragged himself around the desk with a yawn. Tucked into the back of his shirt, Akamaru shone a very visible white under the lamplight.

A second after an audible click was heard, the blonde chuckled and too late Sasuke realised that that wasn't Naruto's laugh. He turned just in time to see Kyuubi snatch Akamaru out of Kiba's loose t-shirt.

Kiba spun around, anxiously staring at the small toy clutched roughly in Kyuubi's fist.

"Look what I found," the blonde drawled, his eyes gleaming in the dim light.

Sasuke was rooted to the spot, unsure if his actions would dissuade Kyuubi from his task or merely provoke him. Every imbroglio caused by Kyuubi had vastly different circumstances and Sasuke's involvement being helpful was always 50/50.

_Stupid, you KNOW Naruto has less control when he's tired and you dragged him out here anyway. Stupid!_ Sasuke berated himself silently.

"Give him back," Kiba said in shaky voice, his hands braced against the floor like he was holding on for dear life. His eyes flickered to the prone Sasuke for a quick second before rushing back

"What? Your toy? Your little _stuffed_ dog toy?"

"That's Akamaru," Kiba said. Sasuke noted the touch of hysteria in his tone.

He looked from Kyuubi's vicious smile to Kiba's wide eyes. He knew that Kiba was expecting him to help. It hadn't taken long for the entire ward to glom onto the fact that Sasuke was the only one who had any measure of control over Naruto's volatile other half.

So Sasuke had found himself stuck in the middle of an overdose of messy situations. It was really starting to tick him off. Especially when the girls would come to him all watery-eyed and hoping for some comfort.

"It's a toy, you moron! If I ripped his little head off, you know what would come out? Fucking stuffing!" Kyuubi hollered.

Kiba's breathing quickened. He looked like he was going to have a panic attack.

Sasuke rolled his eyes. Was he the only one who had what it took to stand up to Kyuubi? He was a bully, plain and simple. Sasuke could handle bullies. He prepared to do his best to ease the situation and opened his mouth to speak. But before he could utter a word, Kyuubi looked at him straight in the eye.

"Ah, lover," Kyuubi said in a voice laced with poison. The blonde glanced over at Kiba, who was still on the floor. A sneer spread over his face and Sasuke couldn't help but think how..._wrong_ it looked on Naruto's still boyish features.

"Weak," Kyuubi said with disgust, chucking the toy across the room. Kiba hurried over to his crumpled dog on all fours. He gently lifted Akamaru and cradled him against his chest. Kyuubi snickered and Sasuke's dark eyes narrowed.

"Leave," he commanded.

Kyuubi merely cackled. "I never leave. Want to know something? Something little Naruto doesn't want you to hear? I _can't_ leave. I don't _live_ in the idiot's body, I am _part_ of him. I'm the part he doesn't want you to see, lover-boy."

Sasuke didn't respond, his firsts clenching and his icy glower holding its ground.

"So when you end up fucking him, you'll be fucking me too. Now? You're not glaring at me, you're glaring at him. The only reason he's so goodie-goodie is because he's got me to be the fucking bad guy when it's really just--"

"Shut up," Sasuke growled.

"--every bad thing Naruto's ever thought--"

"Shut UP!"

"--or felt coming to the forefront like a crack addict overdosing."

Sasuke was seeing red. He was just barely restraining himself from throwing a punch at the blonde. His jaw clenched and he drew in several deep breaths. Then, much to Kyuubi's irritation, Sasuke's mouth morphed into smirk.

"If that's true, then you're not even real. You're just an emotion Naruto doesn't know how to control yet. Heh, how long until Naruto wins?"

"Oh I'm real, alright, brat," Kyuubi snarled. "And little Naruto's been fighting me for years. He's never told you just how long he's been here, has he?"

"Why don't you leave and let me ask him myself?" Having firmly gotten his temper under control, Sasuke put his hands in his pockets and shifted his weight onto one foot. He had never looked so bored in all his life.

"Have your fun. I'm not going anywhere," the blonde finally said through another sneer that really didn't belong on Naruto's face.

Then his blue eyes started to close involuntary. Naruto was exhausted and Kyuubi couldn't be much better, Sasuke reasoned, seeing as Kyuubi was, in effect, just a dark corner of Naruto's mind.

The blonde stumbled towards one of the plush armchairs and haphazardly crashed face-first into its cushions, fast asleep.

Sasuke wasn't sure he was okay with how Kyuubi spouted off about his and Naruto's distorted, somewhat hormone-charged relationship in front of Kiba. But a glance at the dog-loving teen dissuaded his worry. Kiba was still curled nearly into the fetal position, rocking Akamaru back and forth in his arms.

So against a passed-out Naruto/Kyuubi and an oblivious-to-the-world Kiba, Sasuke turned out to be the last man standing. He gave a frustrated sigh. Great. He'd have to somehow get Kiba back on solid ground long enough to get back to his room, and not only that, they needed him to lock the office door behind them. Sasuke realised he'd have to carry Naruto and resisted the urge to groan.

Something told him he wouldn't be getting sleep anytime soon.

* * *

Sasuke decided he hated winter.

It was one thing to be cooped up but being cooped up in a loony bin was a whole other level of going crazy. Or staying crazy, as the case may be. Not to mention that events from the night before were still replaying in his head like some trashy VCR.

Slowly, he redirected his attention to what Iruka was saying.

"Your sociopathic tendencies seem to be doing better judging by your effect on Naruto. Much better actually. I've heard reports of you being social with a number of other C-class members."

Sasuke stifled a yawn and scowled at the ground. He wanted to explain to Iruka just how badly he'd failed trying to calm down Naruto/Kyuubi last night. His eyes roamed over the spots he, Kyuubi, and Kiba had been during the entanglement. He wanted to explain that he wasn't so much socializing as putting up with people. Instead, Sasuke resorted to a more familiar conversation.

"I want to see my brother."

"Sasuke..."

"I know it's not allowed but I've thought about it. I have other things, other...people in my life, however contained my life may be. I need to see if my brother is really still the centre of my world or if he's now just another aspect."

Flashes of Naruto flew through Sasuke's mind in a whirlwind of orange and blonde accompanied by a warm feeling in the centre of his stomach. Sasuke blinked to clear his mind of his distracting roommate.

Iruka just stared for a moment. His patient sounded like he'd put a lot of thought into it. "I think that's more than you've said in your last two sessions combined," the therapist said with a smile.

"You said I've been doing better," Sasuke added.

"Yes, you're interacting on a level closer to that of an average teenager. But how you'll be around the person who...who murdered your entire family... I'm not sure it's a good idea."

Sasuke didn't say anything and merely looked away. He wouldn't plead.

"But," Iruka said with a sigh, running a hand through his chocolate-coloured hair. "We can certainly try."

* * *

All the way back to the ward, Sasuke's heart felt lighter than it had in months.

The first thing he noticed when he returned was that it was quiet. Some of the girls were playing a game of cards and a handful of patients were watching TV. A fair amount were missing; probably in their rooms or at the cafeteria or exercising grounds privileges. He noted that Kiba wasn't around.

"Where's Naruto?" Sasuke asked, turning to Kakashi.

"Kyuubi got a bit much this morning. He'll be staying in Seclusion for tonight. Possibly tomorrow too." All this was said from behind a worn copy of Icha Icha Paradise.

Kakashi peered over his book after Sasuke didn't respond (and after he had finished the paragraph) only to find the dark-haired teen gone. Kakashi glanced over his shoulder to see Sasuke's back as he walked up the stairs behind them. The orderly smiled and made his way to the nurses' station, his nose back in his story.

Sasuke didn't pause to greet any of the people he passed on his way up to the seclusion floor. Fortunately, this was not a new occurrence and so not many passers-by seemed to care.

Starting at the very beginning of the tiled corridor, he went from door to door, glancing in every window until he found his roommate. Naruto looked vastly different without his loud orange and black clothes. The hospital gown made him appear smaller almost.

He was sitting alone in the small padded seclusion cell with his knees drawn up to his chest. Against the walls and floor, which were an odd shade of off-white, Naruto's unruly blonde hair was impossibly vibrant.

Sasuke tried twisting the doorknob and the rattling made Naruto look up.

"It's locked," he called, pulling himself tiredly to his feet. He leaned against the wall.

"What did Kyuubi do this morning?" Sasuke asked, getting straight to the point, his voice slightly muffled by the door.

"Eh," Naruto said, flashing an apologetic grin. "You know how it is, sometimes I know, sometimes I don't. I don't even remember getting up this morning. I frickin' woke up here."

He gave a short laugh and approached the white-ish door. Sasuke's small frown was visible through the little window. When Sasuke didn't say anything, Naruto just kept going.

"At least it feels like he ate something," he said, poking his stomach. "Nice and full."

"Naruto..." Sasuke started.

"Sorry, I'll try to be more careful in the mornings while you're at Iruka's. I know you're good at shutting Kyuubi up. Everyone says so. Everyone loves you for it." Naruto's smile faltered slightly.

"It's remarkably irritating," Sasuke said.

"Sorry," Naruto said automatically.

Sasuke sighed and resisted the urge to knock his head against the window. "Don't be stupid. I don't tell off your bad side for their sake."

"I know, I know. You like your quiet."

"Dumbass, _you_ like your friends. Even though they're stupid enough to judge you on only one part of you."

Now it was Naruto's turn to frown. "You do it so I can have friends? Aren't you not a people person? And why aren't you using Kyuubi's name?"

"It's in my best interests that you're happy." Sasuke's bored facial expression was slowly betrayed by a small smirk. "You're more willing to make out with me when you're in a good mood."

"Promiscuous bastard," Naruto said, blue eyes flashing.

"So you're going to have to get better," Sasuke stated.

Naruto opened his mouth before realising he didn't have a retort.

"So I can get better," the dark-haired teen finished.

Naruto's mouth shut in confusion.

"See you later," Sasuke called before turning away from the window and vanishing from Naruto's sight.

* * *

As evening fully settled on the C-class ward, Sasuke decided to turn in early, seeing as his usual source of distraction wasn't there. He brushed his teeth (under the watchful eyes of the orderlies posted in the bathroom) and pulled on his pyjamas. He climbed into his bed and was asleep before 9:30 checks.

It was probably because of the early bedtime that Sasuke was so easily awoken by a noise in the middle of the night.

Groaning slightly, Sasuke sat up. He turned his gaze to the glowing digital clock. It was 3:48 a.m.

He heard soft, nearly inaudible footsteps making their way towards his door. Now wide-awake, Sasuke waited for the night nurse to enter for checks. He'd ask for a sedative; that would get him back to sleep pronto.

The door opened and immediately, Sasuke knew something was wrong. The hallway's night lights were all off, and the figure in the doorway was merely a dark silhouette.

Sasuke squinted and when the figure spoke, his very blood froze in his veins.

"Hello Sasuke."

Sasuke took a shallow breath and swallowed slightly before speaking in a voice barely above a whisper. "Orochimaru."

* * *

**End Part Six**

* * *

_Author's Note_:

To answer **IceNight009**'s question, the Shock Shop is the patients' slang for electrotherapy.


	7. Part VII

**Out Of It**

**VII**

* * *

The door opened and immediately, Sasuke knew something was wrong. The hallway's night lights were all off, and the figure in the doorway was merely a dark silhouette.

Sasuke squinted and when the figure spoke, his very blood froze in his veins.

"Hello Sasuke."

Sasuke took a shallow breath and swallowed slightly before speaking in a voice barely above a whisper. "Orochimaru."

"You're alone," said the lilting voice. "Where's your crazy roommate?"

Sasuke breathed slowly and didn't respond.

"No matter," the pale man continued. "Come Sasuke. I'm taking you out of here."

Sasuke didn't move. His legs felt like lead underneath the bedcovers. A flicker of annoyance flashed in Orochimaru's eyes but it was gone in the next instant.

"You don't belong here. You're not crazy. We both know that."

"You're wrong. I'm...sick," Sasuke said, his voice just audible enough to make it to the other side of the room, where his brother's old friend stood in the doorway.

"They told you that? You believed them? They don't understand you very well, do they?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed angrily but Orochimaru merely chuckled.

"You two are definitely brothers. But you have more potential than Itachi. So let's go home, Sasuke." Orochimaru's voice betrayed some of his impatience as he approached Sasuke's bed.

A snakelike smile was plastered onto his face. He struck quickly, his hand latching onto Sasuke's wrist like a vice. In one motion he yanked the teen out from under the covers and off the bed.

Sasuke landed haphazardly on one foot, with one knee hitting the floor hard. He tried not to wince at the sudden pain in his knee. Orochimaru took no notice of the dark-haired teen's discomfort and strode out the door, lugging Sasuke along after him.

Sasuke grunted and tried to break the man's tight grip on his arm as they made their way down the corridor. But Orochimaru's grasp was like steel. When they neared the nurse's station, Sasuke opened his mouth to call out but Orochimaru cut him off.

"The night crew have all been taken care of already," he said with a smirk.

Sasuke's eyes widened and he struggled harder against Orochimaru's firm hold.

Then, out of nowhere, a shoe flew out of the dark hallway and struck Orochimaru on the side of the head with perfect accuracy. His unbreakable stride halted and he paused, frowning at the slight ringing in his ears. They both looked down at the shoe in confusion, noting that it was a girl's shoe.

"Excellent throw!" Cried a voice that seemed unethically loud and hyper for this time at night.

Orochimaru whipped around and his face met a fist like a cement truck. He stumbled backwards, dragging Sasuke with him, before falling to the ground in an unconscious heap.

Sasuke's hand flew to the large, pale fingers even now still gripping his wrist. As soon as he managed to work off Orochimaru's hand, he looked up from his place on the floor to find a thumbs-up sign filling his vision. Behind that was a green jumpsuit and a blinding smile.

Sasuke resisted the urge to groan. Maybe he should have just let Orochimaru kidnap him.

Half and hour later, Sasuke found himself involuntarily still awake and sitting uncomfortably outside the nurse's station in a spinning chair. His knee was throbbing and his wrist was still red.

He spun in circles mindlessly and didn't pay much attention as Gai recounted the story of his brave rescue to two police officers, a story punctuated with many erratic gestures, pats on a yawning TenTen's shoulders, and the occasional in-your-face moment directed at the asleep-on-his-feet Kakashi. Sasuke only zoned back in whenever one of the cops would ask him to verify something.

He also took note Kakashi's request that Orochimaru be legally banned from the hospital grounds. The police officers agreed to do what they could and mentioned that Sasuke's would-be kidnapper would be spending the night in jail.

Kakashi then sent TenTen and Sasuke back to their rooms, cutting off Gai's proposal of a celebration of the triumph of youth and enthusiasm. When Sasuke returned to his empty room, he collapsed on his bed and was dead to the world before he could pull the comforter over himself.

* * *

Iruka fidgeted, shifting his clipboard from hand to hand and trying not to think about what could go wrong. He stood next to Sasuke and an old, grey-haired orderly that Sasuke had never seen before.

They stood in front of yet another door with a small window in it on the third floor hallway of the S-class building. The window was higher than Sasuke's line of sight so all he could see of the chamber inside was the ceiling and the tops of the padded, off-white walls.

"Sasuke, are you sure you'll be okay?" Iruka asked for the fifth time that afternoon.

The dark-haired teen was watching the elderly female orderly, who stood silently next to the door his brother lived behind. Figuring it would be in his best interest, Sasuke nodded to Iruka's question.

The psychologist eyed the door a little apprehensively before turning to his patient again. "Because if you're still shaken up over what happened last night, there's no harm in postponing this meeting."

"Dr. Umino, I assure you, I'm ready for this," Sasuke said, sounding more confident than he felt.

Iruka sighed. Then, looking resolute, he nodded to the silent orderly. She turned and unlocked the door with a soft click, and then took a step back, pulling the door with her, leaving Sasuke's path to Itachi wide open.

Feeling the two adults' eyes on him, Sasuke took a step forward. Then another. And another. Until he found himself just inside the doorway. He vaguely recognized the sound of Iruka shuffling closer behind him, but his attention was now completely focused on the figure huddled down in the corner of the little padded room.

As Sasuke stared at his brother, he felt the familiar hatred flair up inside him like a lit firework. But accompanying this usual reaction was the out-of-the-blue thought that Itachi seemed...smaller than Sasuke remembered him. He certainly didn't resemble the threat he used to be now that he was out of his black and red clothes. The hospital gown hung loosely off his shoulders. His once glossy hair, so similar to Sasuke's own, was now straggly and unbrushed.

_Maybe it's just the damn hospital gowns that make everyone look so thin and sickly_, Sasuke thought, thinking of how Naruto had looked. He took a few controlled breaths. He was expecting the worst and wouldn't have been surprised if his mind had gone into meltdown mode again. But so far, nothing had happened. The world remained in colour. He could still hear everything: Iruka was writing something on his clipboard behind him and also Itachi was mumbling to himself softly.

After months of begging for this meeting, Sasuke was suddenly at a loss for what to do. He had expected a confrontation of some sort. But whenever he had imagined this day, Itachi always started it. He would envision his brother calling him one of his old, condescending pet names and Sasuke would retaliate in some way that would finally break his brother's cool exterior.

Sasuke had to admit, he was just a little disappointed. He had expected the situation to be more dramatic, more epiphany-causing, more life-altering. But all he had done so far was reconfirm that he hated his brother. God damnit, he had wanted this situation to fix something!

Itachi suddenly made what sounded like a bark but what was probably a laugh. He melted out of his odd crouching position until he was sitting limply with his back against the wall. His head lolled weakly to the side and his eyes rested on his younger brother.

Sasuke didn't move. He swallowed quietly.

"It's as though the walls eat," Itachi said suddenly in a voice that sounded like it didn't speak above a mutter very often.

Sasuke frowned and Iruka's note scribbling paused for a second.

"Itachi--" Sasuke started. He was almost grateful when Itachi cut him off; he hadn't been sure how to finish what he was going to say.

"I told you to get stronger than me," he snarled. "Now I'm trapped in a frog's stomach!"

Sasuke blinked. Of all the things he had imagined Itachi would say, that was not on the list.

"Frog's stomach?"

"Courtesy of the Frog Hermit. Little Brother, have you learned nothing? I imagine you've already figured out that fire won't burn through the bile coating the walls. And we're usually so good with fire. So damn good for fire..."

Sasuke watched silently as Itachi's speech dwindled back into haphazard soft mumbling.

"I...I'm done, Iruka," Sasuke said, not taking his eyes off his brother, who seemed to have forgotten his existence.

"Okay, Sasuke," Iruka said gently.

When Sasuke didn't turn around, the kind-hearted psychologist put his clipboard down at his side and reached out to put a hand on the dark-haired teen's shoulder. He then steered him slowly out of the room.

"So how do you feel?" Iruka questioned as they made their way out of the building

"This for your notes?" Sasuke asked.

"Ah you're being difficult. That means you're in a good mood," Iruka said with a good-humoured chuckle.

Sasuke sighed a little and slipped his hands into his pockets. He had a bored expression on his face but Iruka knew better than to judge his patient's mood on that.

"I don't know how I feel," Sasuke said factually.

"Do you still hate your brother?"

"Yes." Sasuke's response was quick and solid. He would never stop hating his brother.

"Do you still want to kill him?"

Sasuke took longer to answer this question. They were halfway between the S-class building and the C-class building that Sasuke had come to think of as home. Iruka looked across Konoha Hospital's grounds, shielding his eyes in the late afternoon light as he waited for his patient's reply.

"I...I still want to kill my brother...but it's almost like I don't have to..." Sasuke said slowly, eyes boring holes into the footpath as they walked.

Naruto's words fluttered through his mind unbidden. _Why does it have to be _you_ that kills him?_

Iruka saw the look of concentration on the dark-haired teen's face and subtly slowed his gait a bit, hoping to provide more time for him to talk with his patient.

"Itachi should. He needs to be wiped out of existence..." Sasuke trailed off into thought again for a brief second before a look of resolve crossed his face. "No, I don't need to kill my brother. He's...broken...and already destroyed to the point where he can't hurt anyone but himself."

A broad, warm smile graced Iruka's face. Nothing else was said until the two had entered the C-class building. As they climbed the stairs, surprisingly it was Sasuke who broke the comfortable silence.

"Do you think I'll end up like him?" His hand had drifted up to his pale neck to cover his tattoo. But rather than rest it there like he once would have, he merely rubbed the mark distractedly for a second before lowering his arm and returning his hand to his pocket.

"Only if you want to," Iruka supplied soothingly.

Sasuke looked up at his psychologist, who gave him another genuine smile as he held open the door to the ward.

"Thank you, Iruka," Sasuke said, with a bit of difficulty. They both knew he meant more than just the holding open of the door.

"You're welcome," Iruka said as Sasuke passed through the doorway, back into the familiar hallways.

As Sasuke walked down the girls' corridor towards the rec room, he noted that he was in a good mood that had nothing to do with sex for the first time in a long, long while.

He felt good enough to give Hinata a friendly glance as he walked around her in her usual place on the floor and he very nearly smiled at Kin, who had stuck her head out of her room. Nearly.

Unfortunately, his elation began to ebb when he realized there was a commotion in the rec room, near the boys' hallway. The patients in the room that were still consciously aware of their surroundings were all watching--some in mild curiosity, some in fright, some with glee--as Naruto seemed to be having a type of fit.

The blonde had his eyes squeezed shut and his hands were clutching his head as he had what sounded like a vicious argument with himself.

"-worried so much about them? They hate you--They hate _you_! You're the reason I'm here--I _am_ you!--Shut up!--Just ask your pretty boy, I told him the same thing--Leave him out of this!--And he believes me--Shut it!--Know why? Because it's true!"

At this, the wind seemed to go out of the blond teen's sails. His orange and black-clad shoulders slumped. He appeared to have fallen asleep on his feet.

There was a moment of utter pin-dropping silence before he snapped back awake, like a toy that had just been plugged in. A crooked smile crossed his face and Sasuke realized with some worry that he couldn't tell whether it was Naruto's or Kyuubi's. Was the line between the two blurring?

Sasuke noticed Kakashi hovering just at the edge of the circle and gave the masked orderly a strange look. Why wasn't he wasn't doing anything?

Sakura was clutching Ino's arm, a look of apprehension on her face. Lee was hopping up and down, itching to help but desperately lacking a clue of how to.

The blonde pulled a pen out of nowhere and held the point up to his neck. The crooked smile grew until it bared teeth.

Kakashi moved forwards.

"One more step and I jam this in our...my aorta," Kyuubi said, his nasty tone not tapered by his stumble.

Kakashi stopped. "Your aorta's in your chest," He deadpanned calmly.

Kyuubi looked undeterred but then his eyes widened in shock and the hand that wasn't holding the pen flew to his head again.

"You're me so stop--You wish--You live here and it's my body and you're just angry and stupid--Naruto--Kyuubi. Shut. The. Fuck. Up!"

Rather than stay on his feet, this time when Naruto slumped, he fell to his hands and knees, breathing heavily.

Still nobody moved. The ward's collection of patients were either utterly focused on Naruto's next move or too out of it to care.

"The aorta's in the chest, huh?" The blonde said softly as he slowly pulled himself to his feet. He tiredly took a few steps towards Kakashi and clicked the pen back to blunt. He looked up at the orderly with clear blue eyes and held the pen out. "Good to know," he said with a weak smile.

Kakashi took the pen and moved quickly to catch Naruto as his knees gave way again. He began to snore loudly and Kakashi sighed.

"Shizune, isn't it time for evening meds?" Kakashi called over his shoulder as he hoisted the exhausted blond teen up into a bridal carry.

"U-uh, yes," she stuttered. Having been staring rapt at the scene Naruto had caused, she had forgotten the time. "Everyone line up!"

Sasuke blatantly ignored her and moved in the opposite direction of the rest of the patients. Kakashi made his way down the boys' hallway and opened the door to Sasuke and Naruto's room with his foot. He softly lowered Naruto, fully dressed, onto his bed.

Kakashi looked down at him thoughtfully for a second before turning. He wasn't surprised to find Sasuke brooding right behind him.

"I figured you skip them, so I took the liberty of having some on hand for you," the orderly said, holding out two sleeping pills. "Come on, eat up."

Sasuke's gaze flickered to his prone roommate and then back to the orderly's masked face. Impatiently, Sasuke took them and popped them into his mouth, simply hoping to get Kakashi to leave as soon as possible.

"Ah...swallow them," Kakashi said smugly.

Sasuke glared but figured that two sleeping pills tonight wouldn't do him any damage. He swallowed and opened his mouth to show off its emptiness.

"Good," Kakashi said with a clap of his hands. "Sleep well!"

The door clicked shut after him. Sasuke toed his shoes off as he went to turn off the lights. He then climbed over Naruto and crawled over to lie next to him.

"Sasuke..." Naruto mumbled through a haze of exhaustion.

"What, dead-last?" Sasuke said in his usual tone as he shuffled about, making himself comfortable.

"Kiss me."

Sasuke inhaled and his eyes opened from where they'd drifted shut. He glanced over at his roommate come best friend, who appeared asleep. His heartbeat sped up.

He pulled himself into a sitting position, unconsciously licked his lips, and leaned over the blonde. Sasuke put a hand on Naruto's shoulder to steady himself and let his eyes close as he brought his mouth to Naruto's, which opened unresistingly.

Their tongues met languidly. Tonight's dance would be a slow one. Sasuke's hands ran up Naruto's body, bringing the two of them into a haphazard embrace.

Sasuke shifted forward, his body melding itself to Naruto's. The blonde's hand slid up the back of Sasuke's neck to rest in his black hair. In the dark, Naruto's lips were soft and yielding as Sasuke gave him one very lazy, tired kiss. Their bodies wrapped around each other a little more, soaking up the contact missed over the last night, as their mouths pressed gently and lingered.

The kiss broke as they came up for air. A drop of Sasuke's head found him with his face comfortably in the crook of Naruto's neck. He felt his roommate press a long kiss into the top of his head.

Sasuke recalled the few times he'd been to the seaside as a kid. Whenever a wave would pull him under and hurl him back to shore, he would squeeze his eyes shut against the salty water and the entire world would be black and dwindle to only sensations.

Kissing Naruto in the dark was kind of like that.

With his mind wafting between the sensation of his friend's mouth and old memories of the seashore, Sasuke felt the pills suck him out of the waking world, leaving him sprawled sleeping over Naruto's body.

* * *

**End Part Seven**


	8. Part VIII – Interlude: Narutocentric

**Out Of It**

**VIII – Interlude: Naruto-centric**

* * *

Naruto felt Sasuke's breathing settle into a smooth lull. But that was a few hours ago.

He lay there with his roommate half on top of him in slumber, his taste still in his mouth. Naruto's blue eyes swivelled to the alarm clock. Barely midnight. He'd have to be sneakier than usual.

Moving in an odd sideways scuttle, Naruto ungracefully but gently wiggled out of Sasuke's loose hold. He landed somewhat on his feet next to the bed. Sasuke was still out cold thanks to the sleeping pills, sleeping pills Kakashi hadn't seen the need to give Naruto that night.

Naruto glanced at his pale bed mate, his skin only made more ghostly by the dark of the room. Naruto shook off the urge to sigh mournfully and left the room looking as determined as one could while tiptoeing in socks.

He had been tempted to tiptoe the entire way to Iruka's office just for the entertainment value but his toes voted against it. It wasn't until Naruto was approaching the therapy building that he realised he'd have to try picking the lock on the door by himself. He groaned, though he knew wouldn't have had the nerve to ask Kiba to come even if he had remembered. Naruto's thoughts flickered guiltily to how Kiba had been avoiding him like the plague recently.

Naruto frowned and quieted his steps as he walked down the corridor leading to Iruka's office. Well...looked like he wouldn't have to pick the lock. There were lights on inside and Naruto heard a murmur of voices. He huffed in disappointment at finding his mission aborted. Rather than turn around, Naruto was spurred onwards courtesy of curiosity.

As he neared the office, the fair-haired teen sank his slow walk to a crawl. He then flattened himself out on the ground and turned his head, pressing an ear to the crack underneath the door. Naruto noted with some relief that one of the voices was definitely Iruka's (not an intruder's). And the other one was...Kakashi's?

Naruto closed his eyes and concentrated. To his delight, he found it was surprisingly easy to make out the conversation.

Iruka was saying how he was considering moving Sasuke into Tsunade's care.

"He's improved that much?" Kakashi asked conversationally.

"He has. Of course, a large part of that has to do with Naruto."

"I didn't think sociopaths responded very well to an abundance of close contact."

Naruto subtly tried to scrunch himself closer against the door; he didn't want to miss a word of this.

"Well...he may have purposely curbed any unfavourable reactions to Naruto and other people. Intelligent sociopaths often hide their lack of empathy as a strategic move. They know how to manipulate others' emotions to get what they want. I mean, that's what creates criminal masterminds: a combination of sociopathy, high IQ, and self-awareness."

"Spare me the psychology talk. Why is Sasuke cuddling with Naruto rather than planning a hostile takeover of the nurses' station?"

An image of Sasuke lying alone on the bed flung itself in front of Naruto's eyes. He tried not to wince and refocused on eavesdropping.

"--does seem to have an attachment to Naruto," Iruka was saying. There was a sound of ice clinking in a glass as Iruka took a sip of something. Then a sound of him choking. "Good god, what is this?"

"Whiskey," Kakashi said nonchalantly.

"It's vile." Sound of him taking another sip. "Anyway. Sasuke. May be a strange case where a sociopath has concern for no one but himself and another person."

"Isn't that what love is usually like?" Kakashi said, complete with a theatrical dreamy sigh.

"No. Love means often sacrificing oneself for the other person."

"Mmhmm," Kakashi said happily.

Naruto rolled his eyes.

"He would probably be considered a mild sociopath, but he's still a sociopath nonetheless." More ice clinking. "If Sasuke had to choose between himself and Naruto, he would more than likely choose himself."

Naruto frowned, his entire mind throwing a fit at the blatant distrust of the boy in his bed. But a tiny corner of his brain pointed out, much to the irritation of the gung-ho-ninja-willing-to-die-for-love part, that Iruka might, unfortunately, be making just the tiniest bit of sense.

At the mention of his name, Naruto's attention quickly scurried back to the conversation he was trying not to be distracted from eavesdropping on.

"Suppressing Kyuubi may not be the best way to stop these outbursts. Since Sasuke doesn't like Kyuubi, Naruto's been forcing him away, which makes the ward calmer but...But Naruto shouldn't be ignoring Kyuubi. He needs to reconcile that it's a part of him he needs to get under control."

This sent Naruto's thoughts into another wild spiral.

"I'd never heard Kyuubi and Naruto talk to one another before," Kakashi said quietly. Almost too quietly for Naruto to hear. "That was the reason I didn't interfere today."

"You wanted to let Naruto fight his own battle himself?" Iruka supplied before taking another sip. He sighed. "But he's so good for Sasuke. It's a little unfair that the favour isn't returned."

"Maybe Naruto merely acted as a trigger for him. With Sasuke...with Naruto, especially...anything's possible," Kakashi responded enigmatically. There was a sound of a glass being put down.

"Who knows? Well...I should. This is what I do. These are kids I--mmph."

It took Naruto 4.7 seconds to realise they were kissing.

His eyes flew open. That meant Kakashi must have his mask off! That thought alone was nearly enough to prompt Naruto to burst through the door with guns and cameras flashing. There had been a pot going on for years in C-class on what Kakashi was hiding behind his mask. Actually, Naruto himself may have started it. He couldn't remember.

After a minute of moaning and grunting, Naruto figured the juicy conversation was over. Quietly, he hauled himself to his feet and so, with some troubling new trains of thought and with an imprint of carpeting on one side of his face, Naruto crept back through the catacombs of Konoha Hospital.

The doorknobs in C-class were never polished. They all remained a hazy brass. Naruto's hand was hovering above the one on the door to his room when the IDEA landed in his head. He didn't move for a few seconds, just letting the IDEA settle itself properly in his skull.

After making sure he wouldn't dismiss the IDEA as a dream in the morning, Naruto turned the knob slowly and entered. The first thing he noticed was that the squares of moonlight had travelled across the floor since he'd left. How long had he been gone?

Naruto let out a massive yawn and crawled back onto the bed. He snuggled into a still-prone Sasuke who, thanks to Kakashi's drugs, was so out of it, his sleeping body didn't respond.

* * *

**End Part Eight**

* * *

_Author's Note_: This is an interlude because I switched from focusing on Sasuke to Naruto, which seemed too out of line not to interrupt the flow of the story. So I figured, if you're going to interrupt the story, interrupt it properly.

-Ms. Trick


	9. Part IX

**Out Of It**

**IX**

* * *

Sasuke never thought he would wish to be interrogated by Iruka. But then, he never thought his brother would murder his parents and land them both in a mental institution either. Goes to show you.

He didn't like the way Tsunade peered at him over her slim folded fingers. Then again, he didn't like many people. He got the feeling she could see right through him. He didn't like that feeling either.

"You've made progress in your communication skills. Pretty good for a guy diagnosed with sociopathy a year ago. You've been sitting in my office for nearly an hour and have answered my questions...well enough."

Sasuke scowled. "Just because I'm not talkative by nature doesn't mean I'm crazy."

"You're right," she said evenly. "You could...actually you could probably be out of here within a few weeks, depending on how you act in here and in the ward."

Sasuke's eyes widened a fraction. A detail he was sure didn't escape Tsunade's notice. A surge of panic whipped through his chest, but he managed to somehow curb the urge to gulp in fear and race for the S-class ward.

"Leave," he said numbly.

This woman who looked ridiculously good for her age was his ticket to being proven sane. Sasuke knew this. He just wasn't sure he really wanted this ticket.

"Something wrong?" The good doctor asked, a small, knowing smile on her face implying that she had already guessed the answer.

"I...I know I can fight the sociopathy now that Itachi is locked in a padded cell and Orochimaru is locked in jail. But I don't...no, I want to get better. I am getting better. There's just..." Sasuke's voice got softer. "...nothing waiting for me outside."

"It's your choice," Tsunade said. "You can let yourself be stuck here or you can create a place for yourself out there."

"Create a place," he repeated.

"Yes, get a job or go to college--your file tells me you finished high school."

"I missed the last month," Sasuke muttered.

"But graduated regardless," Tsunade added. "You didn't apply to many colleges. What do you want to do with your life?"

Sasuke got a keen feeling of deja-vu. He had been plagued with this question so many times before, especially after his parents had died. Twelve years in school and nearly a year in a mental hospital hadn't given him the answer. But how difficult could it be to get a job somewhere?

"I'll find a job in a bookstore or a library. It'll be quiet. And I like books," Sasuke said, over-simplifying the answer.

Tsunade appeared mollified regardless.

Someone rapped on the door. Kakashi came in before Tsunade opened her mouth to call a greeting.

"You're late," she said, sitting up straighter.

"Onions," Kakashi said, dismissively waving a hand, as though that explained everything. "Well, you know...Ready to go, Sasuke?"

The doctor's smooth brow crinkled in confusion. Sasuke stood up and thanked her over his shoulder. Kakashi gave her a jaunty salute and followed his dark-haired patient into the hall and down the stairs at a calm pace.

It was raining lightly and the sky was the colour of chalk. Kakashi paused just inside the glass double-doors that led to the outside of the building. Sasuke was staring up into the smudged clouds.

"Contrary to popular belief, mental patients don't melt in the rain," Kakashi said, leaning forward and speaking in a conspiring voice.

"Popular belief says that?"

"Well...word on the B-class ward. Come on," he said, opening the door and holding it.

As they jogged across Konoha's grounds, Sasuke realized his days among the wet scenery around him could be numbered. And he got the incredible urge to find something that was solely his. So, first thing Sasuke looked for when he got back to the ward's rec room was the colour orange.

Naruto was sitting on the green couch that was pushed against the wall underneath the barred windows. He gripped a little pad of paper and was scribbling on it with a pencil. Kurenai was perched on the couch's arm, keeping an eye on him. It figured that after what had happened last time Naruto had a writing utensil that he'd be allotted supervision.

Sasuke felt Kakashi pat him on the shoulder before heading back to read his book in the nurses' station. The dark-haired teen stood watching his roommate for a second. The blonde's emotions were extraordinarily lucid thanks to his rapidly changing facial expressions. He would appear to have gotten a good idea and then he would exasperatedly cross out whatever he had just frantically written down.

Eventually, Naruto's shoulders sagged and handed the pencil back to Kurenai in defeat. She took it and returned to the meds station to chat with Shizune.

Sasuke strolled over. Naruto was now staring into space, lost in thought with the manhandled notebook on his lap; he didn't notice when Sasuke's knees entered his line of sight.

"Writing about me in your diary?"

Naruto jumped a foot in the air.

"S-s-s-sasuke! No, no, I'm just drawing little pictures for the fun of it, y'know," he stuttered, quickly hopping to sit on the notepad. "Doodles..."

"Whatever," Sasuke said, bored already.

He sat down next to the blonde and noticed the blue eyes staring at his legs.

"What?"

"You still have a bruise on your knee."

Sasuke eyed the grainy purple mark made all the more dramatic by his pale skin. Just then, Lee pirouetted by, accompanied by a whirlwind of little pink and red hearts. He was clutching a letter to his chest.

"I guess Gaara came through. How's your brother?" Naruto asked a little nervously as he rocked back and forth, squashing the notebook further.

Sasuke sighed. "Crazy."

"Good. Good," Naruto said distractedly as two girls' voices rose sharply.

"Shut up, Ino!" Sakura screamed as she stood up from her chair.

"I just want to go home!" Ino shrieked back.

Sasuke winced, hoping this argument wouldn't last long for his ears' sake.

"Eat something," Sakura said almost viciously.

Ino shook her head in distress and seemed on the verge of getting hysterical. But rather than burst into tears, she just fell into depressed silence. Sakura huffed and angrily stomped off to the room she shared with Hinata, who cringed from her spot on the hallway floor when Sakura slammed the door.

"Ino, you okay?" Naruto asked, ever the concerned friend.

Sometimes it bugged Sasuke, how easily Naruto forgot the times Ino had raked him over the coals for Kyuubi's actions.

"We used to have flowers," she said, her hands twisting in a distressed manner. "Now all I ever smell is flowers." She let out a sob and then sank back into a distant silence.

Naruto sighed and Kakashi appeared out of nowhere. He hovered over Naruto like a storm rife with black clouds and lightning. Sasuke and Naruto looked up at the scowling orderly with trepidation.

"Naruto. You snuck out of your room again last night. Where were you?"

An image of Kakashi and Iruka snuggling dominated a thoughtbubble that had appeared over Naruto's head. And he just couldn't help the loud laughter that burst out unexpectedly. The orderly had no chance of getting anything through to Naruto at this point. The blonde was shaking he was laughing so hard.

Kakashi sighed his I-nearly-forgot-I worked-in-an-insane-asylum sigh. "Alright, I'm upping your checks to every ten minutes," he said with finality before going to supervise Chouji and Shikamaru, who were playing cards at one of the tables.

Sasuke waited until Naruto had calmed down a little. He was mildly irritated that he'd now have to put up with an orderly every ten minutes and he didn't even know why.

"You snuck out again?" He tried not to sound curious. He wasn't sure what bothered him more: the fact that Naruto had snuck out or the fact that he hadn't noticed.

"I wanted to see what Iruka thought of Kyuubi's recent jackass escapades," Naruto admitted, wiping his eyes, which were still wet from laughing.

"And?" Sasuke prompted.

"And I nearly walked in on Kakashi and Iruka." A grin grew on Naruto's face again.

"Talking?"

"Smooching."

Sasuke contained his surprise by folding his arms, closing his eyes, and stating, "Well, it was obvious."

Naruto's jaw dropped. "What?!"

Sasuke smirked in a way that made Naruto's stomach dissolve into butterflies. His dark-haired roommate's next words sent the butterflies into the air.

"Good idea, though."

Naruto ran his eyes over his friend, taking everything in: the lean body, the ivory skin, the hair that was so black it was blue in places, not to mention the look Sasuke was giving him. Sasuke bit his lip and Naruto licked his.

Simultaneously, they stood up and tried not to run to their destination.

"Hey, would you rescue me if it meant putting your own life in danger?" Naruto asked, attempting to be casual as they tried to nonchalantly leave the rec room together.

"No," Sasuke said bluntly as he checked to make sure no one was nearby or watching them.

"Whhhyyyyyyyyyyyyyy?" Naruto whined. Then as an afterthought added, "Bastard."

"That's below me."

"You can 'below' me," Naruto stated hotly.

Sasuke stopped peering around. " ...what?" He said with an amused frown.

"Uh..."

"Huh," Sasuke said, quickly opening the art supply closet. "Full of good ideas today."

And with that, he shoved Naruto inside, pulling the door closed after them.

* * *

It seemed the rain had driven all of C-class's patients into the rec room in search of entertainment. Kakashi idly scoured the busy room from behind the nurses' station window. Every patient except the one patient he was searching for, that is.

"Yes, I'll get him down there. Give him fifteen minutes," Kakashi said into the phone. He hung up, placed his book on the desk, and then stood up with a stretch.

He headed out into the bustling rec room. A quick check of the blackboard assured him that Sasuke hadn't signed out for a walk. He was in the building _somewhere_.

"Hmm," Kakashi said to himself as he ambled past Chouji and Shikamaru's card game, which seemed to be on hiatus. Shikamaru was tiredly calling over Asuma to help remedy the fact that Chouji was eating some of the cards.

A dark head of hair caught the corner of his eye but it took less than a millisecond for Kakashi to realise it belonged not to Sasuke, but Hinata, who was...doing a headstand?

Kurenai stood by, debating on how to react as Lee, in all his green spandex glory, was balancing on his head and shy Hinata was attempting to mimic him. She was doing surprisingly well; the girl had a good sense of balance, Kakashi noticed. Lee was calling out encouragement to her as he opened his envelope and pulled out the sandy letter again. He started to read it upside down to her; she looked delighted.

Kakashi continued wading through the patients and orderlies on his search.

Ino was still curled up in her chair, looking forlorn. She resembled Kiba, who was sitting on the red couch in a daze thanks to his visit to electrotherapy this morning. Akamaru was loosely clutched in his arms.

Kakashi's attention was drawn to Kin's loud laughter. She seemed to be getting along well with C-class's newest additions: two brothers named Dosu and Zaku, both of which had schizophrenia.

Still no Sasuke.

* * *

"Sasuke," Naruto gasped out, hands scrabbling for purchase on the shelves behind him. "God," he moaned.

He threw his head back, rattling the plastic bottles of paint, and was thankful he was sitting. He looked down and felt even more heat splash across his cheeks and along his veins.

The vision of Sasuke's dark head buried in his lap was enough to shove Naruto over the edge. His mouth opened, but no sound came out. There was just the shudder of release, a spasm that made his entire body vibrate until he was completely drained.

"Where the fuck did you learn to do that?" Naruto said, still trying to catch his breath.

"Could ask you the same thing," Sasuke said, indicating his own body, which was chaotically undressed and sated. He wiped his mouth with his customary smirk in place.

"Guess we're both fast learners," Naruto said with a breathy chuckle. He liked Sasuke devoid of his shorts with his boxers half-off. "Was yours...I mean, did I do okay for you?" He questioned a little nervously.

"Yeah, you were good," Sasuke reassured honestly.

Sapped of strength for the moment, he leaned forward to lie on Naruto's bare chest. The blonde wrapped his arms around Sasuke's pale shoulders and messily cradled him close.

Sasuke mentally reminded himself not to fall asleep here. Here in the dim light, snug against Naruto's heat, wearing nothing but their boxers and sweat. Sasuke was so comfortable, the cynical part of his mind wasn't surprised in the least when Kyuubi showed up to ruin it.

Sasuke's only indication of Kyuubi's arrival was the tightening of Naruto's grip on his shoulders.

"You forget don't you? You kiss him and you pretend I'm not hiding inside. You pretend like you're some miracle-worker, that if you love him enough, I'll fucking disappear."

It didn't pass the dark-haired teen's attention that instead of the usual snarl and snap, Kyuubi's hiss seemed...weary, sad almost. Sasuke was still in the blonde's embrace, but so far, nothing aside from the tightened grip had struck Sasuke as a threat. So it was with confidence, he said softly, "You will disappear."

"Like hell I will!"

Ah, thought Sasuke. _There's_ that temper.

But Kyuubi still hadn't violently shoved Sasuke away or pulled him closer hungrily. _This_ was starting to make Sasuke nervous. He didn't know what to expect and he didn't like it. So he took control of the situation. He unwound himself from Kyuubi's embrace and grabbed his crumpled shorts and shirt from the floor. He untangled Naruto's black t-shirt from his own and threw it at the blonde's face. Kyuubi caught it and glared but pulled it on.

Sasuke dressed quickly and with his back to Kyuubi, though he could feel his eyes boring into his back. When he was done, he turned to find Naruto's glum blue eyes watching him. He was only there for a second and then Kyuubi stood up. Sasuke reached for the doorknob and the blonde batted his hand away. They glared at each other, Sasuke went for the handle again, and after Kyuubi knocked his hand away for the second time, Sasuke shoved him irritably.

Unfortunately Kyuubi grabbed a fistful of Sasuke's shirt as he careened backwards. They hit the shelves with a thump, sending bottles of paint and boxes of markers and crayons and pencils spilling off onto the floor.

Suddenly, the door opened and the blinding light immediately cut off the scuffle. Both boys squinted up into the dark form of Kakashi. Sasuke and Naruto froze, still gripping each other's shoulders and necks.

"Sasuke, you have a visitor," Kakashi said after a pause.

Sasuke coughed, disentangled himself from Naruto (dropping him to the floor a little heavily in the process), nodded once to Kakashi, and exited the closet with as much dignity as he could muster.

The other two watched him walk down the hallway until he was out of sight. Then Kakashi turned to Naruto with a raised eyebrow.

The blonde looked up at the tall orderly like a fox at a hunter. He scratched behind his head.

"Ehehehe..."

Kakashi leaned forward with a cheeky smile. "I guess this makes us even," was all he said before turning to follow Sasuke.

And Naruto, sitting on the floor in nothing but his messy boxers and wrinkled shirt, surrounded by various art supplies, turned a violent shade of red.

* * *

Sasuke stood in the doorway of the visitor's room, staring with a puzzled look at the woman standing in there. She had her back to him and was reading something tacked to the bulletin board on the wall. As such, she hadn't noticed him yet.

Her odd, purple hair was pulled up into a messy ponytail and she wore a worn khaki coat that came to a little above her knees. Sasuke stared hard at her. He knew he knew her from somewhere. The coat was very familiar, and he knew she'd be wearing an inhuman amount of mesh clothing under it, but he couldn't remember her name.

A finger prodded the centre of his back hard. Sasuke threw a glower over his shoulder but Kakashi wasn't even looking at him; his face was blocked by that obnoxious orange book. Sasuke moved into the room and the woman turned around. His eyes immediately glued themselves to the tattoo on her neck. It took a few seconds before his attention shifted to her face.

"Hey there, Sasuke," she said, a sloppy smile forming on her face.

Having only met her a few times in his life, Sasuke wondered if he was hallucinating.

"Anko," he said emotionlessly. "Mitarashi Anko."

Her smile widened.

"Surprised you remember me. I left Orochimaru, what, a week after I met your brother?"

"Not to sound rude, but why are you here?" Sasuke asked.

"I'm offering to take you in," she said bluntly, folding her arms in a way that reminded Sasuke of Naruto when he got an idea he meant to carry through.

"As in live with you?" Sasuke said incredulously.

"No, as in tango with me," she deadpanned as she settled into one of the uncomfortable chairs. "I recently adopted Kaguya Kimimaro and you remember Tayuya, right?"

"What are you, starting an orphanage for Orochimaru's fuck-ups?" Sasuke said from his rigid standing position.

Anko frowned. "What is your problem, kid? Like you want to stay _here_?"

At this, Sasuke glared fiercely at her. She merely smiled intuitively.

"We're done," Sasuke said before turning to stride past the still-occupied Kakashi.

Anko wiggled her fingers in what was surely not meant to be a final goodbye.

* * *

**End Part Nine**


	10. Part X – Interlude: Narutocentric

**Out Of It**

**X - Interlude: Naruto-centric**

* * *

Naruto dressed hurriedly as he watched Kakashi stroll down the hallway after Sasuke. Naruto allowed himself a brief moment of annoyance over the fact that Kakashi was never so relaxed when he had to escort _him_ somewhere. But then it passed and Naruto flashed a huge grin at a surprised Sakura as he exited the art closet.

"What were you doing?" She asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Ehehe...getting...getting..." He spun around on his heel and snatched the first thing he saw. "Markers!"

He held them up and tried to make his grin more convincing.

She sighed. "You are such trouble sometimes, Narut--hey wait! Aren't you going to clean up the mess?" She called as Naruto jovially walked towards the rec room. She waved her arms to indicate the pile of art supplies on the closet floor.

"Nope! I'm a crazy person!" Naruto hollered as he thrust a fistful of blue markers into his pocket.

He vaguely heard her growl his name in annoyance but paid no attention to her. He headed over to the green couch he was on before and slid his hand underneath the cushion where he had shoved his notebook. He drew the crumpled pad out and flopped into a comfortable sitting position the couch.

He scanned the scribbles on the page he'd been working on, which said IDEA at the top in blocky bubble letters. A feeling of irritation came over him and he ripped out the page, crumpling it further. Any IDEA at this point was useless anyway.

The messy handwriting and messier pictures illustrated Naruto's complex plan to somehow get himself into trouble and have Sasuke be his saviour. Naruto shook his head and found he absolutely couldn't stand the thought of Sasuke having to rescue him with that smirk on his face. So screw that entire line of thought.

Naruto wondered if he really doubted Sasuke enough to test him through a ridiculous damsel-in-distress plan. His eye nearly twitched at the word damsel. He stared at the floor, holding the notebook on his lap.

Abruptly, his mind flashed to Iruka's words, reminding him Sasuke was _bad_ for him. But he was making Sasuke better, another corner of his mind injected.

Sasuke didn't talk about it but Naruto knew Sasuke had no reason to leave the hospital. His vengeance, his 'purpose' was in S-class. And the...whatever it was he had with Naruto was here at Konoha. And Sasuke had no family.

But any idiot knows life is better when you're not trapped in a mental hospital and Sasuke was no idiot, Naruto thought with a morose sigh. It wouldn't take long for him to recognize he could be out of here. He was ready to leave behind Konoha and Naruto, all he had to do was realise it.

And, Naruto thought, this was about where his magnificent IDEA became redundant. Because Sasuke could choose to stay at Konoha and slowly, unconsciously tear Naruto apart...or he could leave, sacrifice security and whatever he'd found here so that Naruto could get better

Naruto laughed mirthlessly to himself and crumpled the IDEA inside a fist. How funny. The one thing he really wanted to keep was keeping him crazy.

He viciously hurled the ball of paper across the room, where it bounced into a corner. Kurenai eyed him curiously and patiently went to pick it up.

"Done with this?" She asked, holding it up.

"Definitely," Naruto said, folding his arms.

"I'll throw it out then." She paused in the middle of turning towards the nurse's station. "If you're going to write anymore, I'll need to be here."

Naruto held out the notebook for her to take. "I'm done," he said sullenly.

* * *

**End Part Ten**


	11. Part XI

**Out Of It**

**XI**

* * *

Sasuke wouldn't sit down on Anko's second visit either. She lounged and fidgeted in the hard wooden chair in the visitation room while he paced or stood in front of her. Kakashi was always hanging around the doorway, attention glued to his little orange book o' porn.

Anko's casual stance was pissing Sasuke off.

"Why do you have any interest in what happens to me?" He said suspiciously.

"I'm starting an orphanage for Orochimaru's fuck-ups, remember? You qualify better than most, kid. And I thought Kimimaro was in bad shape..."

As she spoke, her bitten nails caught her focus. She pretended to have great interest in their state of being, even though she had been gnawing on them since she could chew and couldn't care less about their ragged state.

"What's to prove you're not working for Orochimaru now? You seemed pretty willing to in the past."

At this, she looked up angrily.

"I'd kill that bastard if I had the chance. Don't you forget it, Uchiha Sasuke."

Sasuke laughed darkly. "I'm sure, Mitarashi. You want to help Orochimaru's fuck-ups yet you wait until he's out of the picture to approach me 'out of guilt and concern.' You're frightened of him. Not to mention you're weak."

Anko looked at him coolly and Sasuke knew he had hit a nerve. Instead of breaking down in any way, she merely clutched the pendant on her necklace tightly and returned the low blow.

"Well, I'm not the one hiding in mental hospital," she retorted, eyes on his.

They stared at each other icily, both acknowledging they had brushed sore spots. He looked at this woman with a hint of confusion--he was being as nasty as he could, why wasn't she leaving?

She looked defiantly at this dark teenager, soon to be man--what would it take to convince him to come with her? What here, at Konoha, was he so attached to?

The stand-off went on long enough for Kakashi to glance up from his book in curiosity.

"I'll think about it," Sasuke said at last, before turning from Anko's gaze and sliding past Kakashi to exit the room.

* * *

The chilly rain of last week had given way, leaving the present afternoon warmer than it had been in months. Sunlight languidly covered all of Konoha Hospital's buildings and grounds, and so no one batted an eye when Naruto and Sasuke both signed out for walks.

"Everything's already so dry," Naruto commented idly, hands behind his head as they strolled slowly along the path.

The grounds were like a small park. There was only one path, but it wound along through a field that acted as a natural greenhouse for tall grasses, short grasses, wildflowers, planted flowers, and monstrously large trees with an army of buds and leaves on each branch.

They passed Asuma, sitting with a cigarette on a wooden bench as he kept watch on Ino and Sakura, who were sitting a few yards away picking bunches of red and yellow flowers. Naruto smiled and waved. Sakura waved back with her free hand and Ino looked over her shoulder to offer a smile. Asuma nodded to them in greeting as they continued walking.

"Ino's doing much better now, I think. She always likes spring better 'cause of the flowers. Plus she looks like she's been eating more," Naruto chatted happily to his quiet roommate.

Their hands brushed and impulsively, Naruto latched two of his fingers around two of Sasuke's. Holding hands was a bit too much of a relationship thing for them; it was an action that would bring whatever it was they had to light, which meant they'd have to define it, and defend it, and answer questions about it.

Sasuke caught Sakura's look out of the corner of his eye, how she then turned to Ino. Naruto noticed Sasuke's unease and tightened his grip for a moment before letting their hands drop.

"Where're we going?" Naruto asked lightheartedly, hands returning to behind his head.

Sasuke shaded his eyes and scanned the grounds, uninterested in everything he saw. For a change, Naruto decidedly turned off the path onto the grass; Sasuke kept pace with him.

"Ne, Sasuke..." Naruto said, his tone a few shades too serious for Sasuke's liking.

The dark-haired boy tilted his head and gave his roommate a glance to show that he was listening.

"You know, um, you...Well..."

They entered a little clearing sectioned off by two or three of the gargantuan trees.

"Woah!" Naruto said loudly. Whatever thoughts that had been going through his head had been effectively redirected to the twelve foot tall chain-link fence that stood in front of them.

"You didn't know this was here?"

"Uh-uh," Naruto said, shaking his head emphatically as he peered up at the edge of the Konoha compound. There were more trees beyond the fence.

"But you've been here so long."

Naruto looked sideways at him. "Yeah, well...I haven't always been allowed grounds privileges. Or if I have, I was never alone. I only really started getting better a little before you came."

"How long _have_ you been here?"

"I've never not been here," Naruto said, flopping down backwards into a patch of grass shaded by the trees. He eyed the fence instead of looking at Sasuke, who then sat down beside him.

"That's impossible. The hospital doesn't look after infants. The children's ward's youngest is that depressed kid who cries a lot--"

"Inari," Naruto injected.

"You really have no memories before the hospital?" Sasuke asked, curiosity piqued.

Naruto sat up and crossed his legs. He leaned forward and plucked at a few strands of grass before answering. "It's stupid, but I always think my mom had red hair. Like a fox."

"Huh," Sasuke said tonelessly.

He reached out to cup Naruto's face. Blue eyes flicked over to lock with his dark ones. Their gazes held for the second it took for Sasuke to lean in for a kiss. Naruto closed his eyes and leaned into his roommate's mouth, his own mouth opening a little more, deepening the kiss. His hand came up to loosely wrap around Sasuke's wrist as the hand cupping his face slid into his hair.

Naruto's other hand drifted over to slide playfully over Sasuke's knee and up his thigh. The fingers in Naruto's hair twisted and the kiss grew less gentle. A low approving growl escaped from the blonde and he turned towards Sasuke, allowing the dark-haired teen to wrap his arms around his neck. Naruto's hands hooked Sasuke's hips and he pushed him backwards, shoving Sasuke's shirt up as they went.

A groan escaped Sasuke as Naruto started to thrust into him. They broke the kiss, both panting, and took the opportunity to pull Sasuke's shirt over his head and unzip Naruto's jacket. The black-and-orange article of clothing was tossed away blindly and Sasuke threw his head back when he felt Naruto's tongue swipe down his neck.

Sasuke's fingers dug into the blonde's shoulders as Naruto teased and marked his skin from throat to chest. Trying not to get completely lost in the sensations, Sasuke tugged at Naruto's shirt; he wanted it off, wanted to feel Naruto's skin against his own. Getting the idea, Naruto sat back and quickly pulled his black t-shirt over his head. As soon as it was off, Sasuke's lips hungrily reconnected with his.

Limbs tangled and Naruto was sprawled on top of his dark-eyed roommate with Sasuke's knees bent on either of him. A heat wave of arousal flooded Naruto at the feel of Sasuke's hands working on the fly of his pants. Naruto braced himself on the ground next to Sasuke's head with one arm. With the other one, he reached down to Sasuke's groin and cupped him. Sasuke's moan cued him to curl his tongue around his roommate's. The dark-haired teen's hands faltered, and, forgetting their job, clutched at the brim of Naruto's pants. A small movement of Naruto's hand brought Sasuke off the grass with an arched back, pressing their groins together (trapping Naruto's hand between them) in unexpected contact that had them both breaking off the kiss in favour of panting.

Sasuke slid his thumbs underneath the waist of Naruto's pants and, still gasping, met his blue eyes in a silent question. A lusty grin spread across the blonde's face and Sasuke took this as more than enough of an answer. Naruto licked his lips and his tongue unintentionally brushed Sasuke's mouth. He trailed his hand up Sasuke's clothed erection to the button crowning the zipper on his shorts.

Their opened mouths met again in another tongue-twisting kiss as Naruto helped Sasuke work off his shorts.

"Don't we need...lube or something?" Sasuke rasped as he successfully managed to kick his shorts and boxers off.

Naruto looked at him and with great effort, pulled himself out of Sasuke's arms in mid-grope to reach for his jacket. He clumsily searched the pockets and triumphantly withdrew a little plastic bottle filled with pale blue gook.

"I stole some lotiony thing from Ino's room," Naruto said, returning to his position on top of his roommate.

Said roommate looked mildly impressed. He briefly wondered how long Naruto had been carrying that in his pocket. Meanwhile the blonde gazed back down at him, marvelling at how good Sasuke looked with his cheeks flushed and sweat making his black bangs stick to his forehead.

Naruto couldn't resist swooping down and stealing another kiss.

"How--mmph--do you want to do--nngh--this?" Sasuke's mouth asked between distractions provided by Naruto's lips.

Naruto stopped, mouth hovering centimetres above Sasuke's as he thought for a moment. "You're bottom."

"What?" Sasuke asked, out of curiosity and a little indignation. Did he _look_ like he'd be a better bottom?

"I got the lube, I get to fuck you," Naruto said decisively.

He lowered his mouth to Sasuke's ear and, as Sasuke opened his mouth to retort, he traced the shell of Sasuke's ear with the tip of his tongue and finished with a bite and a tug on the earlobe. He heard Sasuke's breath catch.

"Ah...f-fine," he acquiesced in a feverish whimper.

Naruto tugged at the remains of his clothes hurriedly. Sasuke grunted in discomfort, which quickly faded into a long-breathed sigh of approval as a pair of lips met his bare, sensitive stomach.

His legs spread unconsciously, giving the boy between them a little more room. He heard the little lotion bottle click open with a small plastic sound and a wave of doubt washed over him. What was he doing?

Naruto sat up a little and pressed an open-mouthed kiss onto the sensitive inside of Sasuke's knee. Sasuke's doubts met a tsunami of hormones--sociopath or no sociopath, Sasuke was still a teenaged boy. His eyes closed briefly and his breath rushed out past his lips in an unsteady, shallow hiss.

Naruto pulled Sasuke towards him, hands cupping Sasuke's bare ass as he raised him almost into his lap. Legs on either side of the blond, Sasuke swallowed hard, doubts battling hormones, as he felt Naruto's erection, slick with the lotion, nudge his entrance.

They paused like that for a second and then Naruto pushed in. Sasuke frowned and tried to relax. It wasn't easy. He tried not to move as the sensation swung from pleasure to uncomfortable prickles of pain and back to pleasure again. Noticing his discomfort, Naruto forced himself to stop moving, hands fisting in the grass.

"Keep going, I'm fine," Sasuke ground out. He shifted his hips to prove it and ignored the pain that shot up his lower back.

Naruto didn't look completely convinced but the temptation to keep moving was too much for him to argue. He lowered his head and caught his roommate's mouth in a deep kiss as he thrust forward in one smooth stroke, filling Sasuke to the hilt. Sasuke gasped shortly into his mouth, his fingers convulsing around Naruto's upper arms.

Naruto's breath came in harsh pants as he ground down into Sasuke's hips. Sasuke gritted his teeth. As the pressure suddenly warped into intense pleasure, he threw his head back with a load groan.

They rocked back and forth, sweat easing the friction between their bodies. Grunts accompanied them each time they bore down towards the ground. Sasuke's toes curled into the grass, his fingers clawing at the taut muscles of Naruto's back.

They gripped each other harder as they felt climax nearing, the heat between them rising the closer they got. Naruto's hand slid over Sasuke's sweaty chest and stomach to latch onto to Sasuke's erection. He had barely begun stroking before Sasuke bucked and then curled in suddenly, nearly knocking his head against Naruto's as his release hit him.

"Ah! Shit!" He bit out, hands scratching down Naruto's throat to grasp strong shoulders as he rode out the waves. Naruto followed him over the edge quickly. He groaned loudly, thrusting hard as he came, burying his face in Sasuke's neck.

A satisfied huff spilled heat over Naruto's shoulder and they stayed like that for a second. Slowly, Naruto pulled out--Sasuke winced just slightly--and collapsed at his side, both of them panting and staring into space with dazed eyes.

"That was a lot better than I thought it would be," Sasuke finally said.

The blond gave him a curious look before rolling his eyes with a muttered 'sociopath.' He lazily reached over and snagged his shirt as Sasuke pulled himself into a sitting position. He pulled his boxers on and watched Naruto tug the black shirt over his head. As soon as the blonde's head was through the neck of the shirt, Sasuke was kissing him.

Naruto's mouth opened against his while he haphazardly donned his own boxers. Somehow, they managed to get all their clothes back on without breaking the kiss for more than a few seconds at a time.

Finally, they drew apart. Sasuke opened his eyes to find Naruto grinning into his face. He looked at the blonde balefully.

"What?" He asked, covering a sudden bout of shyness by sticking his hands in his pockets and shifting his weight to one foot--his perfected bored look.

"We just had sex," Naruto said, face still split in half by his full-wattage smile.

Sasuke scoffed and rolled his eyes before flopping backwards onto the grass. Naruto looked down at him, his smile dimming for a second, his eyes growing distant. He quickly lay down next to his roommate, folding his arms behind his head.

They gazed up at the leafy branches of Konoha Hospital's unhealthily-large trees. The light and wind played across them, throwing moving shadows over the two mental patients.

"You already knew about this place," Sasuke stated.

"Huh?"

"Please. It was a bit too convenient. You happen to have lube on you when we come across the perfect secluded area?"

"Hehehe...well, I knew _of_ it. People always make out here."

Sasuke looked over curiously. "Who?"

"Y'know. Ino and Shikamaru sometimes. Others too, I think...Um...Sasuke."

Sasuke grew wary at the serious tone of voice and the fact that Naruto wasn't looking at him. His blue eyes were glumly fixed to the high branches.

"What, dead-last?"

"You know you...Well, I...You know you can leave," Naruto stuttered out.

Sasuke frowned and sat up on his elbows. "Is this because of Anko? Don't worry about her. She's probably working for Orochimaru. And anyway, there's nothing out there."

"There's nothing here," Naruto said quietly, sadly. Like he'd thought about this, Sasuke realized. "You're going to go. You're...better. You've gotten better. And until..." Naruto took a deep breath. "Until you go, _I_ can't get better."

Sasuke stood up, shocked. He glared down at his roommate, who was still avidly staring a hole into the trees. Angry that Naruto thought he could just push him away, angry that he had nothing to say in reply, and especially angry that Naruto might be right, Sasuke turned and marched out of the clearing.

Naruto sat up and watched Sasuke's back as he left, feeling utterly miserable. A familiar static began filling his ears and he could feel the tendrils of Kyuubi's presence eating at the edges of his vision, framing the world in red. Naruto fought back, but his heart was heavy and he put no energy into the battle.

Naruto knew Kyuubi didn't like Sasuke beyond the kissing and the sex. That was the only reason Kyuubi obeyed Sasuke somewhat, to keep him happy. And, Naruto thought with a wince, he had just pushed away the only person that had some measure of control over his vicious other half.

Kyuubi pushed harder and Naruto felt some of his defences give way. And it would be so easy to just sink into the oblivion Kyuubi provided, so easy to just let go, so easy...to just...

* * *

A string of curses flew through Sasuke's mind and his feet slipped slightly as he tore up the C-class stairs. He was breathing heavily and had broken a sweat.

He had tried to walk off his anger; he had needed to think away from the wardens and the other patients. And in the meantime, Naruto had had a meltdown so spectacular, so explosive that Sasuke heard patients in the far corner of the grounds in the B-class ward discussing it. It was then that Sasuke had started running.

A frustrated voice in his head mentioned that Naruto may not even care if he showed up. Sasuke was too tired to forcefully shove the thought away and so merely countered it by thinking that it was his fault, he had caused Naruto's problems and, if he was nothing else, he was responsible for his actions.

Finally, Sasuke reached the floor he needed and burst through the doors into the hallway. He raced directly towards the room he suspected Naruto would be in but Kakashi appeared out of nowhere and physically stopped him like a brick wall.

Sasuke glared and pulled back, panting from exertion.

"Naruto's under sedation. He's asleep. You can't talk to him," Kakashi reasoned.

He watched carefully as Sasuke walked over to the door and looked in through the little window. Sasuke saw that Naruto had landed himself exactly where Haku used to be. He was in one of the hospital's gowns and was strapped down tightly to the bed.

No, this was wrong, Sasuke thought. Naruto wasn't like Haku. He was too optimistic, too strong-minded to be compared to the downcast Haku, who was so accepting of death and obedience.

Sasuke automatically reached for the doorknob but the masked orderly spun him around so that they were face to face.

"Let go," Sasuke growled, trying to twist out of the older man's hold, but Kakashi's grip on his shoulders held him firmly in place.

"Listen to me," the orderly commanded. "I have something to tell you."

Sasuke stopped actively struggling and aimed eyes like daggers at Kakashi.

"We have to do a background check on people looking to care for discharged patients they aren't related to. We had Mitarashi Anko researched as protocol."

Dread sank like a weight into Sasuke's stomach at Kakashi's next words.

"It's clear, Sasuke. Anko's offer is real."

* * *

_Author's Note_:

Got a bit of inspiration from the-pink-angel's _Wasting Mission Time_ and DarkSahdow's _Drunken Lee Flirts XD_ on DeviantArt, thought they deserved some credit.

And then this is just awesome: sora-ko's _Naruto – Googlefight_


	12. Part XII Epilogue

**Out Of It**

**XII - Epilogue**

* * *

Ino clutched her prize in her hand as she climbed up the stairs light-heartedly. The heels of her new knee-high boots clicked against the linoleum floor. She pushed on the doors to the Seclusion hallway and ambled towards the patient brooding in front of the Isolation room.

She smiled and held out the little bottle of orange nail polish.

Sasuke took it gratefully. "Thanks Ino. Nice sweater," he added offhandedly.

She grinned gleefully. "It's new."

Sasuke made a non-committal noise and he turned to open the door. Ino sighed and made her way back down the hall. She had told Sakura they could eat breakfast together today.

Sasuke glanced over at Kakashi, who was leaning against the wall next to the door. His face and body language were unreadable. Taking this as a go-ahead, Sasuke entered and made a beeline for the only member of the room.

He still hated the mere idea of strapping sunny Naruto down. It seemed just downright mean. But, Sasuke reminded himself, it was in his power to fix this.

Naruto's eyes creaked open at Sasuke's approach, still fighting the effects of last night's long, drug-induced sleep. Nothing was said as Sasuke unscrewed the cap off the bottle and started to paint the nails of the blonde's right hand orange.

His eyes were fixed on his work but the few times Sasuke looked up, Naruto was staring into space distractedly.

Sasuke finished up the one hand and moved to the other side of the hospital bed.

"What are you thinking?" He asked.

"That there has to be a bar in heaven for the people named Angel who don't like the...whatchamacallit...the...uh...irony."

Nothing else was said until all ten of Naruto's fingernails and all ten of his toenails were vivid orange.

"I heard you forced Kyuubi away," Sasuke said, slowly screwing the cap back on the little bottle.

"Not so much forced him away like I fought a great battle and won...but he's gone, I guess."

"Maybe for good?" Sasuke asked, sounding more curious than anything else. Naruto was a little glad he hadn't heard hope in the dark-haired teen's voice.

"I don't know. He's still here, like in here, just not...there...right now. Like he's not a he."

There was a pregnant pause.

"I'm leaving soon," Sasuke said quietly.

Naruto felt a wave of guilt followed by a wave of happiness, followed by another wave of guilt over being happy.

"You're going to get better," Sasuke continued in a voice that implied no arguing. "You'll get better and find me. Kakashi knows where Anko lives."

Naruto felt a lump form in his throat and his eyes burned as he forced himself to say what was needed. He took a steadying breath and didn't meet Sasuke's gaze.

"I know you hate Kyuubi. Does it matter if it ends up we're the same person?"

Sasuke kissed him. They both knew it was mainly because Sasuke didn't have an answer to the question, but it was because of something else as well.

Sasuke kissed without the fervent need of their lust-induced romps but with the quiet need of a lonely kid, reaching a hand out into a dark world and hoping, nearly begging for someone to take it. And so Naruto kissed back, heartache meeting heartache.

Sasuke pulled back to say, "I never said I hated Kyuubi."

Naruto's eyes studied him. "You're a liar," he said, smile forming at the corners of his mouth. "You're not a real sociopath."

Sasuke smiled. "Guess not."

Kakashi quietly stuck his head into the room. His two patients had their heads close together, like conspiring school children. The orderly smiled slightly, remembering how months ago, he had walked in on them curled around each other in bed. Back then, he had figured that the two of them could pull each other out of here. Naruto had found someone who focused on him rather than Kyuubi and Sasuke had found someone stubborn enough to break through the ice shield his childhood caused him. Despite everything that had happened, Kakashi believed he had been right. He retreated to the hallway silently.

"Are you breaking up with me?" Naruto blurted out suddenly.

Sasuke blinked. After not defining what was between them for so long, the phrase 'breaking up' seemed glaringly out of place.

"I'm not sure I could ever 'break up with you'. You'll always be my friend...best friend, probably the only friend I've got," Sasuke said, with a wry smile. "Even if you...if we don't...Jesus, Naruto...It's not like I'm looking for a...a boyfriend or a wife or someone to pose in a photograph with. I just need someone to cling to for a while and the only thing I want is for them cling back--"

They were still close enough that Naruto could cut him off with a kiss. One of Sasuke's hands landed on Naruto's shoulder. The kiss broke with a sigh.

"Get stronger than me. I'll be waiting," Sasuke said, righting himself. He smirked down at the blonde strapped to the bed. "Not that I don't like you all tied up."

"Bastard," Naruto said, thankful Sasuke had turned away and so couldn't see his cheeks tinting.

"Idiot," Sasuke called over his shoulder, leaving the room confidently. He closed the door behind him and slumped against it.

"Rough?" Kakashi asked from his position against the opposite wall.

Sasuke gazed at the floor, melancholy creeping into his eyes.

"I'm not used to leaving. I'm usually left," he admitted.

"Mmm." Kakashi nodded in understanding.

"I mean...what do you say to people you...love that much? What can you say when you leave?"

"Be safe; be happy; don't forget me?"

"Something like that I guess."

With Kakashi at his side, Sasuke slowly made his way down to the ground floor, where the visiting rooms were. He entered a hallway lit with white morning sunlight and squinted slightly.

Three shadowed adults stood conversing at the other end. His suitcase, small as ever, was at their feet and Sasuke thought that he still didn't know what it was he liked about Naruto.

Because love was the wrong word. Oh, it may have been the right word once but nowadays it had too much baggage, too many pre-conceived ideas already in place.

But maybe...

"You ready?" Anko said when she caught sight of him.

...maybe if the feeling was strong enough, you didn't need a name or a reason for it.

He nodded and Anko picked up his suitcase from where it rested in front of Tsunade. She moved out the door and Sasuke watched her pop open the trunk of a rather beat up looking silver car.

He shook Iruka and Kakashi's hands and thanked Tsunade, who had a genuine smile on her face.

"Take care of yourself, Sasuke," she said.

He nodded and followed Anko to the car. He climbed in the passenger side and as the smell of the seats hit him, he thought about how long it had been since he'd been in a car.

Anko brought it to stuttering life with a twist of her key and Sasuke gave into the cliché urge to look back.

He saw several C-class patients at the window, watching him like they'd watched Gaara months before, and Sasuke thought he finally understood. Crazy wasn't being broken...or swallowing a dark secret. It was just people...amplified. It was getting sad and just getting stuck.

He could make out Sakura's pink head and the green beast that was Lee. He could just see Kiba's red cheeks and a flash of blond hair that had to be Ino. But then they were too far down Konoha's long driveway to see and Sasuke turned to face frontwards.

"Y'okay? Seem kinda out of it," Anko said, glancing at him out of the corner of her eye.

"Yeah."

After five years or so, most of the patients in C-class would be out, living lives. Some Sasuke would see.

Some, never again.

* * *

End

* * *

_Author's Note_: Say hello to the first story I've finished in a while. I'll probably get a sequel out if I scrounge a good idea up. Any tips? Anything you'd like to see? Let me know.

It's shameless promotion time! If you think I'm sexy at all, check out my other story "Sealed" which is my next big project. Here's a summary:

_It's another Tsunade-must-revive-Konoha-through-arranged-marriages fic. But marriages don't always mean love or friendship. Some will end well, others won't. This will not be a smooth ride: Sasuke has issues, Hinata's heart is twisted every which way, and most of the genin don't know what to do with themselves or their new spouses at all. Plus, complications arise when Orochimaru turns his eye to a different genin instead. There will be sex LATER, as this is going to be a long fic and they are currently 12. Sasunaru GaaraLee KibaHina slew of others_

Woot.

Thanks again!

-Ms Trick


	13. Sequel Announcement

--

Sequel is out!

It's called:

**Landing**

**--**

**Summary: **In addition to dealing with the ghost of someone vaguely familiar, his attraction to both Sakura and Gaara, and life after a mental hospital, Lee has to endure Sasuke and Naruto making out.**  
**

**-- **


End file.
